The Long and Winding Road
by Sambrea
Summary: Off the first season finale. A COMPLETELY different take on what direction the series could have gone. Eventually crosses over with my Luna series, but you don't necessarily have to have read it, but it isn't a bad idea! Please leave feedback, thanks!
1. Part 1

Disclaimer Author's note: 5/28/00: I've been working on this for quite a while. I've only got the first part done (this one here) but am working on what will probably become the last part (I'm running out of ideas!!!) which is part 10-15 (somewhere in that range, I won't know till I transcribe all of them). It's going to be in the tradition of a fantasy book series called "Redwall" where one character is telling the story sometime in the future. If you want more info on that series you can email me or go to: http://www.redwall.org which is the offical site for the series. This is going to go ff of the first season (starting off after the first season and branching off as an a/u!). As always, any feedback is welcome at smooth@ticon.net . Enjoy!!!! 

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters for this part of the series (I make up characters later on though). Jason, Neri, Jali, Dianne (I do own the one in the prologue though), Brett, Winston, Vanessa, Froggie, Zoe, Jodie, etc. 

A Long and Winding Road By Sambrea 

Prologue: An old man rolled out onto the balcony of his house, where a young woman of about twenty years of age was waiting. The man was wrinkled and in a wheelchair, but of good health and mind and his eyes shined of youth and life. 

"Father, are you insisting we start this again? It was difficult for you the first time, and from what I understand, there is a lot more to come." 

"Dianne, I think it is time for me to tell the full story before the end is upon me. It's something I want to tell you, not just write it down. I just told you the first year, and there is a LOT more left but I feel that I need to tell it." 

"All right," Dianne said, picking up a small recorder. 

Chapter 1 

Neri crawled onto the beach and turned herself on her back. It had been a long and hard journey  
getting back to the island in the couple days that would normally have taken a week, especially with both of  
them injured. Jali, get help, she told the whale as she tried to find the strength to climb farther up the beach  
to where the waves wouldn't reach her at high tide. Jali sang his reluctance to leave her but she persisted. 

'Find Jason and others. Go now.' Jali paused for a moment then swam towards Orca at the fastest speed he could muster. Neri felt him leave and pull out of range. She managed to pull herself above the tideline before succumbing to exhaustion and oblivion. 

++++++++++ 

Summer was almost finally over, beginning an almost constant vigil for any sign of Neri or Jali. Everyone  
who had helped to free Jali last spring wanted to help keep the vigil, which to the kids' surprise included  
Jason and Brett's mom and Winston. Jason took to sleeping in Neri's nest on her island, often with someone  
else sleeping nearby on the ground. This became the subject of a lot of contreversy and speculation on Orca among the kids who knew who Neri was, but they let Jason alone. The end of summer forced Jason to move back to Orca so he could return to school. There was still no sign of Neri or Jali, making everyone live in trepidation and worry as whales started returning to the waters around Orca. 

About three weeks after school started, Jason, Brett Froggie, Zoe, Jodie and Vanessa were sitting in the rectreation room talking about school and Neri when Zoe stopped listening and became spellbound with what was outside the window she was facing. 

Jodie was sitting next to her and noticed the change in her attention and followed her line of sight to the window and what was floating outside of it. 

"Good God," she whispered, half standing, and causing the rest of the group to stop chatting 

Author's note: excuse the language, I don't mean to offend anyone, and I couldn't think of another way to  
express it. 

"Jodie..." 

"Jason, if that's Jali, we've got to find Neri NOW," she said in a hurry. 

"What are you..." he started to say, paused, then turned to fac the window along with everyone on that side of the table really quickly. It was indeed Jali, but he was in really bad shape. He was missing part of his tail and he had bite marks all over. Jason took charge of the group, who was still staring in shock.  
"Vanessa, you go with Froggie and sign a boat out. Brett, go with Zoe and find Mom. She'll want to come with. Me and Jodie will go up top and make sure Neri's not up there." 

"Where else would she be?" Froggie asked. 

"Her island. Let's tell as few people as possible. We don't need the whole base searching for her." They left the rec room a moment later to go about the tasks. 

++++++++++ 

Jason and Jodie stood on the platform as they anxiously watched Jali swimming around the platform. Neri  
hadn't been on the platform so they were waiting for the rest of the group to finish their tasks. Vanessa had  
decided to go straight to the Commander, dragging Froggie with her. 

"Commander we need a boat now." 

"Who is this we and why do you need a boat all of a sudden?" 

Vanessa ticked off the names of everyone who had seen Jali and for good measure, Dianne and Winston  
and then went into a detailed explanation of what they had seen. When she had finished the Commander looked up, and seeing the seriousness and fear in their faces, nodded. 

"I can see you're serious. You can have a boat, but be careful." Vanessa thanked him quickly and dragged  
Froggie with her out the door, leaving the Commander to chuckle, shake his head and smile, and then go back to his paperwork. Brett and Zoe ran into Dianne's lab, surprising her and Winston, both of whom were working. They stood there a moment, catching their breath. 

"Brett, what's going on?" Dianne asked. Brett caught his breath faster than Zoe. 

"It's Neri, Mom. Jali found us maybe five minutes ago. She wasn't with him and he's in really bad shape.  
We need to find Neri now." 

"What are you guys talking about." 

"It looked like he had been attacked by a shark Ms. Bates." 

"All right. But your telling me this why?" 

"Because we know how much you care for Neri Mom and we could use another pair of eyes for the search." 

"Would you like my help too?" Winston asked. 

"We need all the help we can get. We've got to leave now though." 

"I saw Jali a while ago on the screens but without Neri with him I thought he was just a curious whale." 

"Mom, there's no time for that now, we have to find Neri," Brett said, grabbing Dianne's hand and dragging her  
out the door, leaving Zoe and Winston no choice but to follow them.  
++++++++++  
Ten minutes later, everyone was on the boat getting ready to leave. Dianne was pacing the length of the boat. Jason was watching her. 

"Mom, sit down. Your going to wear yourself out doing that and we need your help to find her," he said,  
leading her to a bench and sitting next to her. 

"We should never have let her go on migration. What kind of mother am I?" she asked as the boat started  
moving. Winston, who was sitting on her other side, put an arm around her shoulders. 

"Your a mother who realizes that you can't control everything that your children do, or what happens to them," he said. "What would have you done to keep her here anyways, Mom? Locked her up at Orca? She would have forever hated you for that," Jason said, squeezing her hand comfortingly. The rest of the trip was spent in silence. 

++++++++++ 

They finally reached the island after what seemed like an eternity, though it couldn't have been more than 45 minutes. Jason took control of the group, knowing he was the only one with really intimate knowledge of the island and that his mom was in no condition to do it herself. 

"We need to split up," he said as everyone left the boat. 

"Vanessa, you and Jodie got to the left along the beach. Brett and Froggie go to the right. Mom, you and  
Winston go to her camp. Zoe and I will stay here. If any of you find her come tell us, we'll get the others." 

No one argued with him except Zoe, who wanted to help search with the others. Jason quelled her though,  
convincing her they had just as an important job as the others. Everyone headed off in their respective  
directions, leaving Jason and Zoe to wait by the boat. 

Vanessa and Jodie had been walking for a few minutes when Jodie noticed a figure laying in the sand.  
"Please no," she said as she ran over to where Neri was laying face down. Vanessa was right behind her and helped Jodie turn Neri onto her back. Vanessa immediately checked for a pulse, and finding a very weak, but steady pulse let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. 

"She's alive, but her pulse is really weak. We need to get her help." Jodie stood up and took off running in  
the direction of the boat. Vanessa used the time that Jodie was gone to give Neri a more thorough examination.  
She wasn't any expert, but she didn't need to be. Neri's dress was caked with dried blood, making Vasnessa  
think she had lost a lot of blood. She was about to peel Neri's dress off when she realized that she didn't know if Neri wore anything under her dress. Vanessa decided to wait until the rest of the group joined her which wasn't more than a minute later. 

"Is this how you guys found her?" Dianne asked as she, Jason and Winston knelt down next to her. 

"Just about. We had to turn her face up. I would have taken her dress off to check her injuries but I'm not sure she's wearing anything underneath." Everyone looked at Jason, who put his hands up in defense. 

"Don't look at me, I really don't have any idea, but if you want my opinion, I don't think she owns anything else but her dress." 

Brett, Zoe, Froggie and Jodie came running up then, hurrying to catch their breath. 

"All right, here's what we're going to do. Brett, you, Zoe, Froggie and Jodie go back to the boat." 

"But Mom..." Brett said, whining. 

"Don't mess with me right now. Just do it," Dianne said in a no nonsense tone of voice. 

"Winston, would you go with them?" Winston patted Dianne on the shoulder and herded the kids back toward the boat, ignoring their pleas to let them stay. 

"So what do we do?" Vanessa asked. 

"I take it you sent away the younger kids because we're going to have to take off her dress right?" Dianne  
nodded. Vanessa put a hand on Dianne's shoulder. 

"You want me to do it?" Dianne covered Vanessa's hand with her own. 

"Thank you. I'm not sure I have the strength right now to do it myself." Jason moved to where he could give his mother more support, as Vanessa moved closer to Neri. 

"I'm just going to pull it to her upper chest. "I'll go farther if I need to but that's a good starting place." Vanessa took a deep breath and started peeling back Neri's dress, which she literally had to do. Neri was indeed naked under her dress. Vanessa didn't let it phase her for more than a moment though. As she kept peeling up Neri's dress, she couldn't help wincing. Neri had deep teeth marks all along the left side of her body. 

"How did she survive that?" Dianne asked, whiping a tear from her eye. 

"Jali," Jason said quietly as Vanessa pulled Neri's dress back down. 

"Now what do we do?" Vanessa asked a moment later. Dianne thought a moment before answering. 

"We really need to get her back to Orca. The problem is, we don't have anyone on the medical staff who knows who she is." 

"We'll just have to tell someone who's trustworthy. We can't treat her ourselves," Jason said. 

"How do we get her to the boat?" Vanessa asked. 

"I'll carry her," Jason said. 

"You sure you can do it?" Dianne asked skeptically. Jason nodded. 

"I'm guessing she can't weigh more than 100 pounds. Anyways, I'm her best friend so I think it's kind of my duty." "Let's get going then. It looks like she lost a lot of blood," Dianne said, starting to stand up. 

She wiped her hands on her pants as Vanessa stood and Jason moved to pick Neri up. 

"She's even lighter than I expected," he said as they started walking. 

"Whales lose fat on migration. Neri probably loses weight." Five minutes later, they reached the boat. 

"Mom, how is she?" Brett asked as they climbed on board. 

"She's alive, but how, I can't imagine. She's got deep bite marks down her whole left side of her body. Jali  
must have saved from being bitten in half. We need to get her to Orca for help," she said as Winston got the boat started. "No one on the med staff knows who she is so we'll have to be careful what we say. We'll have to tell someone though.  
++++++++++ 

A long 45 minutes later they finally reached Orca. Winston had radioed ahead so there was a medical team  
waiting on the platform. "I'm Dr. Jennifer Crane. Who is this?" 

"Her name is Neri. It looks like she was attacked by a shark," Jason said as he stepped out of the boat and  
put Neri on the waiting gurney. 

"Where did you find her?" That stopped Jason in his tracks, along with most of the group. Jason felt a hand on his shoulder a moment later. 

"Tell her the truth. I think we can trust her," Dianne said.  
Jason nodded. "Her island." 

That caught Jennifer by surprise. "Her island?! The only islands around here are uninhabited!" 

"That's ture, except for one island." 

"How come I never heard about this?" 

"We've kept her a secret for a year now with good reason," Dianne said as they waited for the lift to return for them. "What do you mean?" 

"I should say only that she has a friend who probably saved her life out there." 

"A friend?! The only thing out there is whales!" Dianne grinned and pointed out Jali, who was sitting 50  
feet out from the platform, one eye on it. 

"Jennifer, meet Jali." Jennifer took a good two steps back at the sight of Jali. 

"She's friends with... him?" 

"Why else would he be this close?" Brett said, a smile on his face. 

"Actually I don't know that much about whales," Jennifer said as they entered the lift. 

"Well, they usually don't hang around human installations like he is right now." 

"How long have you guys known her?" 

"Brett and I have known her a year now. Mom for about half a year, and the rest of us about a quarter of a  
year," Jason said. "And how many other people know about her?" 

"Just the Comander and his daughter. We've kept it pretty secretive, and we'd like to keep it that way." A  
couple minutes later, they reached the medical center. Another doctor was waiting for them. 

"I'm Dr. Riker. Your the ones who brought the girl in right?" 

"Yes. How is she?" 

"She'll be all right. Any blood she lost she seems to have regenerated by herself. Her only problem really  
is she's extremely exhausted. She needs to sleep. She'll be fine after that." 

"What did you do with her dress?" Jason asked. 

"You mean that thing she was wearing? We had to take it off her, but we're not exactly sure what we should do with it. Who is she anyways? I've never seen anything like that before. And on top of that she didn't have anything on underneath it!" 

"Dr. Riker, I'll take over Neri's care from here. I know more about her than you do, and they want to keep this as quiet as possible," she said pointing over her shoulder to Jason the rest of the group. After a moment of thought Dr. Riker nodded. 

"All right. I can live with that." As Dr. Riker moved away, Dianne whispered to Jennifer: 

"If she's only exhausted, can we move her to my quarters?" Jennifer shrugged. 

"I don't see any reason why not. It wouldn't cause as much of stir certainly if you have her there." With that Jason entered the area where Neri was laying and picked her up. Someone had already dressed her in an Orca uniform. Dianne followed him and picked up Neri's dress. Jennifer put a hand on Dianne's shoulder as she passed by.  
  
"There's no way of knowing when she'll wake up. You might want to have someone with her until she does. I'll come check on her tomorrow before I start work. When she does wake up, she might want a familiar face there." 

"Thank you. For everything." Jennifer nodded and entered the medical center leaving Dianne to follow the  
rest of the group. "Let's put her in my room," she said as she joined the rest of the group in her quarters. 

"We should go. Our parents will be wondering where we are," Vanessa said, speaking for all of the kids. A few of the kids looked like they were going to protest but when they saw the look on Vanessa's face they kept quiet and filed out. "I thought you guys might want some time to yourselves," Vanessa said just before she left.  
  
"I should go too," Winston said, putting a hand on Dianne's shoulder. 

"Thank you for your help today Winston. You didn't have to come with us you know." 

"I wanted to. Besides, she's my friend too," he said, squeezing Dianne's shoulder and leaving the room. 

Dianne entered her bedroom where Jason had placed Neri on the bed. 

"Mom, where are you going to sleep?" Brett asked. 

"A chair in this room, just like I'd do if one of you were sick." 

"What about tomorrow? Who stays with her?" Brett asked 

"We'll take turns. I can't miss work tomorrow, so you take a turn Jason." 

Chapter 2 

It was a quiet evening, with Neri sleeping the entire night. Jason was studying in the chair next to her bed when he heard a voice. 

"Jason," Neri said, just barely loud enough that he could hear. Jason smiled as he put down his book and  
looked at Neri whose eyes were open. 

"Hey there... How are you doing?" 

"Tired... dry. Too dry." 

"Let's get you into the bathtub then," he said, picking her up. 

"Where I?" 

"Orca. We found you yesterday after Jali found us. We brought you back with us after that. Neri, what  
happened to you and Jali?" Neri took a deep breath as Jason eased her into the bathtub, which was  
actually more the size of a hottub, and turned the water on. 

"Shark attack. Bite me, Jali bite, save me." Jason pulled a chair over to the tub as it finished filling. He  
turned off the water.  
"Neri, how much blood did you lose?" Neri had closed her eyes and was leaning against the edge of the tub. At the question, though, she opened her eyes and turned to face Jason. She paused a moment before answering. 

"Lot. Lot of blood. Did not help hurry home... finish trip two days, take week." That surprised Jason. 

"No wonder your exhausted." 

"Where mother?" 

"She had to work today, since we spent most of yesterday afternoon looking for you." 

"You mad?" 

"No, none of us are. I mean, we were just surprised. Jali certainly scared us yesterday." 

"I send to find you. No now why hurt." 

"Well, your home now. You can stop worrying...Neri, would you be willing to teach me how to swim like you?" 

"Why?" 

"I think mom will agree with me that you should have someone else with you when you go on migration next year. She can't, obviously, because of her work. Brett's too young, he needs to continue with school. That leaves me." Neri was silent a moment as she thought about that. 

"Take lot time. Need build power. Can move island? Teach there. Too deep here." 

"I'll talk to mom. I'm old enough to make my own decisions. She'll just have to understand. Let's get you back into bed," he said, standing up. 

"Mother not mind I wet?"  
  
"No. It was her idea to put you in her bed in the first place," Jason said as he picked her up. 

"But I wet!" 

"Don't worry about it," Jason said as he set her back in bed, and covered her with a blanket. 

"If it makes you feel better, I can get you a towel." 

"Towel? What that?" the question surprised Jason but then he realized there wasn't any way that Neri could know what a towel was. 

"It helps you dry off when you're wet," he said as he got one from the bathroom and handed it to Neri. A minute later, Jason took back the now soaked towel from Neri and went to hang it up in the bathroom and when her came back, Neri was asleep. 

++++++++++  
  
The next few days were basically the same routine, except everyone took turns. Jason often argued with his  
mom about learning to swim like Neri so he could go on migration with her and Jali the next summer. 

Finally after much debate and thought, Dianne agreed. 

"All right, you can do it, but just because your living on Neri's island, that doesn't mean your education has to suffer. You keep up your studies until you go on migration all right?" 

Jason nodded. "As long as I can go." That ended that. The only problem left was really Neri's nightmares. A couple nights after she arrived on Orca she started waking Dianne up, who was still sitting next to the bed, thrashing and moaning. Dianne would hold Neri until she fell back asleep. 

"She still is so much like a child," Dianne commented to Winston one day while they were working. 

"Does it bother you?" 

"No, it gives me the chance to have the daughter I never had." 

"Actually, it does not surprise me. that she is more of a child than she should be. Before Jason met her, she  
hadn't had human contact for years. That means no chance to learn, no chance know life outside of her island. No chance to grow." 

"These nightmares are really hurting her." 

"Have you talked to her about it?" 

"We talked as a family. It helped, I think. She's only waking up once a night on average now." 

"That's good to hear. She probably is read to go back to her island." 

"Jason's going with her." 

"What?!" 

"He wants to learn to swim like she does so he can go with her and Jali when they go on migration next  
spring." "And you're comfortable with that?" 

"Not as comfortable as I'd like to be, but it's his decision." 

++++++++++ 

A week later, Neri and Jason moved to her island. It wasn't easy to learn to swim like Neri did. They spent a few hours a day building Jason's breath control, stamina and swimming ability. They were also working out a mutual sign system that would be useful under water. All that time together added an interesting twist to Neri and Jason's personal relationship. Jason had been feeling like Neri was becoming more than just a good friend for a while, but because Neri's mind was almost like a child's, he wasn't sure he should say anything about his feelings. Jason had been teaching Neri to read, which she had asked him to do in exchange for the swimming lessons. Jason thought that was a pretty fair exchange, so he had been teaching her. Jason had gotten a wetsuit from Orca, allowing him to keep much warmer while swimming than if he had just been wearing a swimsuit. As his swimming got stronger, Neri started taking Jason out into the ocean to swim with Jali and go on longer swimming trips.  
"Today go to Orca, Neri said one morning as they ate breakfast. Visit mother." 

"You think I'm ready?" Neri nodded. 

"Been ready. Ultimate test. Go on migration soon." A half-hour later they were swimming toward Orca. 

"Dive, Neri signed when they reached the platform. Jason nodded, broke the surface for a fresh breath and then dove with Neri. When they reached the bottom half of Orca, Jason signed he wanted to find Dianne's lab. Neri grinned and signed to follow her. A half-minute later they were floating in front of the lab window. Winston and Dianne had their backs to them so Jason knocked on the window. He could see Dianne say something to Winston, him head to the door, open it, look out into the hallway, and say something to Dianne, who paused, said something and turned to the window. Jason had to grin at the look on Dianne's face. He waved to her as she said something. Apparently she was trying to tell him something, because, from what he could tell, she said the same thing over again. Jason shook his head and pointed to his ear. That sent Dianne into a flurry of activity. Winston finally handed her a piece of paper, which she frantically wrote on. When she held it up where Jason could read it, it said, Meet us up top on the platform, Jason nodded and signed to Neri what it said. She nodded and headed to the surface, leaving Jason to follow. Five minutes after they arrived on the platform, the lift door opened. Jason and Neri were still in the water as a precaution in case someone came up before Dianne did. 

"Where are you Jason?" Jason and Neri climbed out of the water and onto the platform. 

"We're right here Mom," he said, giving her a hug. 

"Were you trying to give me a heart attack down there?" Dianne asked as she gave Neri a hug. 

"Sorry mom. Of course we didn't mean to." 

"What heart attack?" 

"It's where your heart stops," Jason said. 

"Aren't you teaching her that kind of thing?" 

"Yes, but sometimes it's just easier to just answer her questions." Dianne nodded. 

"When do you leave?" 

"Jali says seven day at sunrise.". 

"I'll try to be there to see you off. If I'm not, can you stop here before you head out?" Neri nodded. 

"It on way out." 

"Will you wait for us on the platform?" Jason asked. Dianne nodded. 

"Sure. I'll see you, one way or the other." She hugged both Neri and Jason one last time then watched them  
dive into the water and swim off towards the island before she turned back to the life. 

Seven days later she was on the platform at sunrise with a sleepy Brett standing next to her. Winston was also there but not so close to them. A few minutes later Jason and Neri surfaced and climbed onto the platform. 

"So you guys are really heading out huh?" Brett asked, surprising both Jason and Neri with his presence. 

"I just wanted to say goodbye and good luck," he said, shrugging it off. Dianne hugged Neri and Jason for a long minute. Brett came forward then and gave Neri a hug. 

"I packed a couple things for you to take with," Dianne said, handing a airtight backpack to Jason. 

"The backpack is waterproof so it won't harm what's inside. There's a satellite phone in there so you can call me here if you need to, that's also watertight. There's also a few candy bars in there in case you get sick of living off the sea, Jason," she said, sniffing. Jason took the pack from Dianne and gave her a long hug. 

"Thanks Mom. We'll be back before you know it." He turned to Brett, who was standing next to Dianne and ruffled his hair a bit. 

"Watch out for Mom, all right? You're the man of the house now." Brett grinned. 

"I've been the man of the house since you left to live on Neri's island. Good luck." Neri put a hand on Jason's shoulder. "Jali say we leave now." Jason nodded, gave his mom one last hug and waited as Neri did the same. He said goodbye one last time, and then turned with Neri to dive off the platform. 

Winston came from where he had been standing near the door to the lift, and put his hands on Dianne shoulders. "You aren't going to get much sleep until they return are you?" he asked. Dianne shook her head. 

"We might as well go back. They're gone and everyone will be awake in a bit." The three of them left the  
platform and entered the lift a moment later, with Dianne taking one last look out to sea. 

Chapter 3 

Jason smiled at Neri as they neared her island. I had been an uneventful migration, at least according to Neri. They had almost had a couple run-ins with tourist boats who were watching the whales migrate, but they had been able to avoid any contact and continue on their way.  
  
"Jali say good to be home," Neri said as they climbed onto the beach. It was late evening so they had  
opted to go to Orca the next morning instead of then. They walked to camp and were surprised to find it in good shape, despite the months it hadn't been in use. 

"It was probably just Mom," Jason said as he walked over to the firepit, where a white piece of paper was  
folded in half and taped to a rock. Jason picked it up and unfolded it. 

**Jason and Neri, I hope this note finds you in good health. We're all doing fine here on Orca. Come visit us soon. Mom** Jason read it to Neri, who smiled. 

"Sleep now, visit tomorrow," she said, turning to climb the tree in which their nest was in. Jason sighed at the thought of going to bed so early, but followed her up to the nest. He had professed his love for her a couple of weeks before, just before they had gone to sleep, and to his surprise, she had not been embarrassed but signed that she loved him too. Jason gave Neri a kiss before they fell asleep. 

Chapter 4 

Jason was woken up by Neri, who was gently nudging him. 

"Time to go visit." 

"Neri, your just a stickler for waking up early aren't you?" 

"Stickler?" 

"I mean, there's no chance you'll ever let me sleep in is there?" Neri grinned and shook her head. 

"Didn't think so. Will you at least let me eat some breakfast first?" Neri nodded. 

"I join you," she said and turned to climb down the tree. 30 minutes later, they were at Orca, treading water  
near the platform. 

"Give mother heart attack again?" Neri asked, smiling. 

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Jason said, grinning. 

"Let's dive." Jason followed Neri down to the lower levels of Orca. 

++++++++++ 

Once again they found themselves in front of Dianne's lab window. Dianne and Winston were both working hard at a nearby table, both their heads bent over something so they couldn't see Jason and Neri. Jason smiled at Neri and knocked on the window. Winston once again went to the door of the lab and looked out into the hallway making Jason roll his eyes. 

"When will they stop checking the door when they hear a knock?" Jason signed to Neri, who just shrugged.  
Dianne and Winston turned back to their work, making Jason roll his eyes in annoyance. He knocked again and when Winston opened the lab door again, Jason knocked a second time, making Winston turn to the window. 

Jason waved to him, he grinned and said something to Dianne which made her turn to the window. Jason waved and Dianne smiled and turned to a microphone near the window. 

"Well hey there," she said, and Jason and Neri could actually hear her, scaring the heck out of them. 

Dianne chuckled. "Everyone thought I was crazy to want a speaker outside my lab. We'll meet on the platform all right?" Jason nodded and led Neri up to the surface. 

A couple minutes after they arrived on the platform the lift door opened and Dianne and Winston stepped out. 

"It's so good to see you guys," Dianne said, giving them both a big hug. 

"It's great to see you too Mom. What gave you the idea to put a microphone on the outside of the lab so we could hear you?" 

"It wasn't that hard to think of. You couldn't hear us through the window. People who don't know about the two of you think it's for our research. How was the trip?" 

"Long, but uneventful. We did almost get into trouble when a couple of tourist boats came close to where we were swimming. I needed to come up for air right there too. We almost came up next to the boat before I realized there was something there. Someone did see me, but it was only for a couple seconds and considering what happened after I first saw Neri, don't think anyone will believe her." 

"Where wee you? Were you anywhere near here?" 

"Month away," Neri answered. "It good to be home," Neri repeated, giving Dianne another hug. 

"So what has been going on while we were gone?" 

"Well actually, Winston and I got engaged." 

"What?!" Jason said, his jaw dropping to his knees. 

"You missed a lot while living with Neri," Winston said, coming forward and putting his arms around Dianne. 

"Are you mad at us for not telling you we were in love sooner?" Dianne asked a little apprehensively. 

Jason sighed. "No Mom, I'm not mad at you. I think it's wonderful. You just surprised me," he said, giving his mother a hug, and then reluctantly gave Winston one too. 

"What engaged?" 

"I'll handle this Jason. Neri, two people get engaged when they love each other very much?" 

"What's the hold-up on the wedding?" Jason asked, hoping to stop any other questions Neri might have. 

"We've been waiting for the two of you to return. We want to have the ceremony on your island, but it didn't seem right to have it without the two of you there. You are still planning on living on the island right?" 

Jason nodded. "We don't have any other plans." 

"So you're not going to move back to Orca?" 

Jason glanced at Neri. "No. I like my life on the island. Have you set a date for the wedding?" 

"No. We've been waiting for you guys to come home, like Dianne said," Winston replied. 

"Would you like to come down with us?" 

Neri and Jason glanced at each other before Jason nodded. "Sure," he answered. "There's just one problem. Neither of us have our uniforms." 

"I have them in our quarters. I'll go get them." 

"Get some shoes for us too," Jason said as Dianne entered the lift. 

"If you're not wearing your uniform under there, what are you wearing?" Winston asked as they waited. 

Jason cleared his throat. "Actually… nothing." 

"Don't you get cold?" 

"No. It isn't exactly warm in the water, but this suit keeps me warm." 

++++++++++ 

Dianne returned a minute later with two uniforms in hand. 

"I'm glad I kept these all this time. Let's see. Neri's is the one without sleeves," she said, handing them out. 

"Where I change?" 

Jason told her and she went behind a box. 

"Where did she learn that?" Dianne asked. 

"Brett and I started teaching her that when she first came to Orca. She started changing clothes right in front of us. We've had to do something.. Of course that brings up the question of where I'm going to change." 

"You can change right here." 

"Mom, I'm not wearing anything underneath this wetsuit," Jason said out of the corner of his mouth. 

"Oh," Dianne said after a moment. "Wait a minute, you're naked under there?" 

"Yes mom. Isn't that what I just said?" 

"But why?" 

"Because wearing anything else is pretty uncomfortable." 

"I done," Neri said, coming out from behind the box in her uniform. "You change now." 

"Jason went behind the same box to change. 

"Where put dress?" 

"You can put it in our quarters until you leave later." 

"Where Brett?" 

"He's still at school. I sent him a message telling him to come home for lunch. He hopefully will." 

"I'm ready," Jason said a moment later, coming out from behind the box. 

"Let's go down then," Dianne said, leading the way to the lift. 

++++++++++ 

As the lift descended, everyone was pretty quiet. 

"It's been a while since I've been inside," Jason commented. 

"You mean inside Orca?" Winston asked. 

"No, inside period. The last time was… before I moved to Neri's island." 

"Wow. We should get you in here more often," Winston said with a smile. 

They went to the Bates' quarters. 

Jason sent messages to his friends who he knew would want to see him and Neri, which mostly consisted of the group that had helped to find Neri the year before. 

They were all sitting and talking when the door opened and Brett walked in. 

"I got your message Mom. What's going on?" Then he spotted Neri and Jason sitting there and his face lit up in a big grin. "Neri!" he said, giving her a big hug. He then turned to Jason and reluctantly gave him a hug. 

"It's good to see you guys. How was the trip?" 

Jason told Brett the same thing he had told Dianne. 

"Wow," Brett said when Jason had finished. It sounds like you were almost caught." 

Their small gathering became almost a party as more of Jason's friends stopped by to see him and Neri. Jason had to relate the story of his near capture several times over the evening. 

Neri and Jason stayed on Orca longer than planned on, and when they finally returned to the platform, the sun was setting. 

"Why don't you guys set a date for your wedding within the next few days and tell us, all right?" Jason suggested as he gave his mom one last hug and waited for Neri to do the same. 

Dianne nodded. "You guys going to be all right by yourselves?" 

"Mom," Jason said. "We'll be fine. Anyways, we still have the satellite phone if something happens." 

"All right. Don't be afraid to call us for anything all right?" 

"Yes mother," Jason said, and signed to Neri they should leave. 

"Bye," Neri said reluctantly as Jason dived into the water, leaving Neri no choice but to follow. 

"Why leave?" Neri asked as they arrived on the beach. 

"When Mom starts talking like that, you want to get out of there. Otherwise you never will," Jason answered. 

End of Part 1  



	2. Part 2

The Long and Winding Road Part 2 Author's note: this is the second part of a series I'll probably call "The Long and Winding Road". I don't know where Neri got her necklace in the first place and I won't until I see the second series again (I found someone willing to tape it for me, but she hasn't sent me them yet.) so I'm making up my own story going as close to the original as I can but not exactly the same because that's not what I'm trying to do. 

The Long and Winding Road Part 2 

By Sambrea 

Chapter 1 

The next few weeks were spent in relative quiet. 

Jason continued to teach Neri to read, getting books from Dianne, and continued to study every day. 

He had been trying to convince Neri to let him go into the badlands and take a look at the craft that was crashed there. 

Neri didn't want anything to do with it, saying it wasn't safe to go back there. 

Jason finally convinced Neri they really needed to look at the craft and even to come with him. 

"Tell mother first. Then enter." 

Jason had no reason to dispute that so they headed for Orca. They dove immediately when they reached the platform, not needing to communicate. 

They reached Dianne's lab a minute later. Dianne and Winston both were hard at work so they didn't notice Jason and Neri at the window. Jason knocked and Winston once again went to the door. Jason rolled his eyes, but this time Dianne looked up and glanced at the window. 

She said something to Winston, who turned around and grinned at the pair. 

"Hey guys," Dianne said into the microphone. "You want us to meet you on the platform?" 

Jason nodded and led the way up to the surface. 

Five minutes later, Dianne and Winston joined Jason and Neri on the platform. 

"What's going on?" Dianne asked as she gave both Jason and Neri hugs. 

"We thought you should know. Tomorrow we're going to go into the badlands and check out the craft that's crashed there. 

"Why?" 

"I really think we need to find out what it is. It might hold some clue as to who Neri is and where she comes from." 

"Why tell me?" 

"It dangerous. Might not come out," Neri said. 

"Would you guys like someone to wait for you guys to return?" 

Jason and Neri glanced at each other. "I don't think we need it. If you don't hear from us in a few days, start worrying." 

"How many is a few days?" 

"Let's say three, starting tomorrow." 

"All right. I can see I'm not going to change your mind. If I don't hear from you in a few days I'll start worrying." 

Jason nodded. "Thanks Mom. Hopefully, if everything goes well, you'll hear from us in a couple of days." 

Jason gave Dianne a hug and Neri did the same and they dived off the platform a moment later. 

++++++++++ 

The next morning Jason and Neri set off for the badlands after breakfast. Five minutes later they were standing in front of the craft. 

"What now?" Neri asked as they looked at the structure. 

"Well, we look for a way in. Let's hope there is one. You go around to the left, I'll take the right. Yell if you find anything." 

Jason got about halfway along the side when he saw rungs going up the side. 

"Neri," he called, almost at the same time she called his name. 

Jason couldn't help but smile. "What did you find?" he asked. 

"Ladder. Go up." 

"I fount the same. Let's meet on the top." 

It didn't take very long for Jason to climb up. When he got there, he walked across to help Neri up. 

When she was on top Jason turned around and took a look at the top of the craft. 

It was longer than he had expected. Longer than wider, it made Jason wonder exactly what it held. 

"It large," Neri said a moment later. 

"Well, now that we're up here, do you have any memories of it?" 

Neri closed her eyes for a moment then shook her head. "Sorry. Too long." 

"It's all right. I just thought I'd ask," he said, smiling at her. "Let's try to find a way in. I hope it's on the top, otherwise we climbed up here for no good reason. Let's start at the front and work our way back." 

They found a hatch ten minutes later, between the two ladders they had climbed up in the first place. 

It only took a moment to get the latch undone and open. 

It was somewhat dark in the craft, leading Jason to wish they had brought a light with them. 

Jason climbed down the ladder on the side of the whole and then waited for Neri to descend. 

They stood in place for a moment as they waited for their eyes to adjust to the changed light. 

"Where do you think we should start?" 

"Front, work back." 

Jason followed Neri to the front where there was a large open area and Neri stopped short. 

Jason looked over Neri's shoulder. What he saw didn't excite him too much but it might have at one time, since the place was covered in cobwebs, making him think the craft had been there for an interminable number of years. 

"What now?" Jason asked quietly, not wanting to break the almost tomb-like atmosphere. 

"Look around," Neri said, stepping forward and starting to brush cobwebs off surfaces. 

As they were doing that, they piled the cobwebs in the middle of the room. As more of the room was exposed Jason was able to figure out what the original use of the room had been. 

To him, at least, it was obviously a command center. 

As he looked around, Jason noticed something out of the corner of his eye. 

"Neri?" he called out to her as he walked over to the blinking light. 

"Hmm?" 

"Um, there's a light blinking over here." 

"That turned Neri around really quick. "Light blink? Where?" she asked, walking over to stand next to Jason. 

Jason noticed the light was actually a button and after a moment of silence from Neri, pushed it. 

There was a soft hum, making Jason jump. "How does this thing still have power?" 

"Not know. Be here too long ago." 

The humming got louder and to Jason and Neri's surprise the whole place started lighting up. 

Jason jumped a mile when he heard a voice behind him making both him and Neri spin around in surprise. 

Standing in front of them was an older man in about his sixties, or at least a projection of one since it kept flickering. 

"Father," Neri whispered, stepping forward a few steps before Jason put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. 

It's just a projection Neri," he said softly. 

"Neri," the projection said, smiling. "I wish I could see you now," he said, shaking his head. "By now, you must be curious about where you come from… you don't come from Earth. There wasn't enough power left in this old craft to send a message home, but there is two things you need to know. 

"Neri, you have a sister on this planet. Her name is Mera, and she is three years younger than you are. When you ship crash-landed here I didn't have any choice but to send her somewhere else. All I know is that she landed on the mainland but not too far from the coast. 

"There is no chance that you or Mera will ever be able to see your birthplace or meet the relatives you have there, but you may be able to start your own family here, or join a willing one. 

There are other children out there, ones whose parents also felt that it would be impossible for their children to survive the impact. They are more spread out, and we didn't have any way of knowing where they landed. 

We are outcasts from our society. Your mother was queen and was exempt but we were forced to leave our home and make the long journey here, all because of you, Mera, and the other children. 

"I leave you with one last thing." 

Jason heard hissing again, and turned around to see a compartment near the button he had pressed open. It contained a pendant on a chain. 

Jason removed it from it's compartment and handed it to Neri as the projection continued. 

"It's only one half of a complete necklace. Mera should have the other half, unless something happened to it. I wish you happiness and long life Neri. Good luck on your search for your sister. If the rest of this program works like it should, you will never be able to access this program a second time. But there is a second message for you and your sister that is on time-delay after this one. I am leaving some files available to you that will give you some idea of what your birthplace was like. Goodbye my beloved daughter. Never forget me and may you have a wonderful and long-lasting life." 

The hologram shut down then, and a screen near Jason came on. 

Neri didn't even notice. She was still staring intently at the necklace in her hand. 

It surprised Jason to see a silent tear rolling down Neri's cheek. He wiped it off and wrapped Neri in a hug that he knew she needed. 

"Want me to put it on you?" Jason whispered as he held Neri. 

He just barely felt her nod before he moved back a step. He took the necklace from her and stepped behind her to close the clasp. 

"Thank you," Neri said, holding the pendant in her clasped hand. 

Jason smiled and nodded, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Well at least we know you have a relative who might be alive on Earth. We can start a search for her at least. I mean, we know her name, her approximate age and that she is probably nearby. We'll talk to my Mom tomorrow and hopefully be able to find out where she is. Even if we can't find her you still have me, Brett, Mom and Winston," he said putting his hands on Neri's shoulders. "And we certainly consider you to be family." 

Neri was still grasping the pendant in her hand. 

"Hey while we're here, do you want to take a look at the rest of the ship?" 

Neri finally nodded. "Not know what else here." 

As they explored the rest of the ship they stayed together, opening every door they came across. 

"Neri," Jason called to her when he opened a side door in one of the bedrooms. 

Inside the closet was a row of outfits very similar to the one Neri wore. 

Neri came into the room, picked one off the rack and just held it to her. 

"You could keep it in case we find Mera. I suggest you take one for yourself." 

"Why?" 

"You've had that outfit for years right? What says you have to continue to wear the same outfit now that we have found more." 

Neri thought about it for a moment and finally nodded. 

"I'll leave you in here to change," Jason said, walking to the door and closing it behind him. 

He waited a couple minutes and Neri finally emerged, another outfit draped over her arm. 

"Leave old dress in closet. Not need." 

Jason nodded and led the way back out. 

Chapter 2 

The next morning Neri and Jason set out for Orca right after breakfast. 

They reached Dianne's research lab a few minutes later. 

Jason knocked on the widow and this time was able to get Dianne and Winston's attention right away. 

"Hey guys," Dianne said. "We'll meet you on the platform all right?" 

Jason nodded and followed Neri up to the surface. 

++++++++++ 

What did you find?" Dianne asked as she and Winston exited from the lift. 

"That craft is a spaceship Mom, not a boat. We confirmed that Neri's not from Earth." 

"Where is she from? Did you find that out?" 

"We don't know. The projection of Neri's father didn't tell us too much. There's something else too." 

"I have sister." 

Dianne's eyes bugged out. "You have a sister?" 

"She does Mom. And if Mera's anything like Neri, we need to find her before Ubri gets wind of her. They will be all over her otherwise." 

"How old is she?" 

"All we know is that she's three years younger than Neri. She also has the counterpart of Neri's necklace." 

"Do you know any more clues about her?" 

"Just that she's likely near the coast. If she's like Neri she probably wouldn't want to be inland." 

Neri put a hand on her pendant. "You want for Mera?" 

Dianne thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No. We should find her first." 

"Well, good luck in your search Mom," Jason said, giving her a hug. 

"Wait a minute. You're not going to help?" Dianne asked, surprised. 

Jason shook his head. "Mom, I'm really much more comfortable on Neri's island. It's just a lot nicer there than on Orca." 

"You like island?" 

"It's just so peaceful there." 

"Honey, I think it's wonderful you've found a place where you enjoy living," Dianne said, giving Jason a hug. 

"Thanks Mom. I was hoping you'd understand." 

"I may not completely like it, but I understand." 

"We go?" Neri asked. 

Jason nodded and gave Dianne one last hug. 

A minute later, he and Neri dived from the platform. 

++++++++++ 

It took Dianne and Winston a week of searching before they found out where Mera was. 

She had been at a foster home for kids with unusual talents for a couple of years, but a couple months before an institute called Ubri had taken her, the administration at the center had told Dianne. 

"We need to get her out of there," Jason said when Dianne told him and Neri what she had learned. 

"How? Ubri certainly won't just hand her over. And we don't know the layout of Ubri barely at all."  


"We have to do something. We can't just leave her in Ubri's hands." 

"Need help first." 

That got Neri, Jason, Brett, Dianne and Winston planning. 

Chapter 3 

It took a month of planning before anything was actually done. 

Froggie, Brett, Jason, Jodie and Vanessa were to make up the group. Jason was in possession of Neri's necklace and was hoping that would be enough to convince Mera to come with them. 

Neri was staying with Dianne and Winston for the day, so that she wouldn't be alone to worry on her island. 

Everyone on the team was dressed in civvies since they were posing as a group of kids who were taking a tour for a class at school. 

The plan was to get away from their tour guide somehow and try to find out where they were keeping Mera. 

One of the things they were able to find out from both the records on the spacecraft, which Jason and Dianne had been diligently copying onto computer disks was that Mera was 12 and Neri 17, the same ages of Jason and Brett. 

From the center they learned the name Mera had been given, which strangely enough was Mary. 

They were also able to learn a few things about Neri's planet of birth, and her family, which Jason related to her. She had only been reading on the level of about a third grader, which despite it being quite an accomplishment for Neri, it wasn't really enough to be able to read the files. 

The day finally arrived when they were going to infiltrate Ubri. The group of four had spent the previous night in a hotel on the mainland so they wouldn't raise suspicion when they arrived like they might have if they had come from the direction of Orca. 

Neri had spent the night on Orca, having given her necklace to Jason the day before when they dropped her off at Orca before they left for the mainland. 

It had been a hassle just to get a tour in the first place. They had to get alibis and fake places of residence to start with, then they had to give the exact reason they wanted a tour. 

"When people ask for a tour on Orca, they don't have to go through anything like this," Dianne said at one point. 

"We don't have anything to hide Mom. My guess is, they do," Jason had said. 

++++++++++ 

As the group reached Ubri, a woman met them. "My name is Jennifer. I'll be your guide here at Ubri today. Our fist stop will be to get all of you Ubri uniforms," she said, leading the way through the gates. 

"That will make it easier to slip away," Jason whispered to Vanessa. 

Vanessa just nodded slightly. 

Most of the tour was pretty boring. There just wasn't that much of interest to see in what they were shown of Ubri. 

Jason thought they'd never get away from their guide, but they got the opportunity when a group of people passed them going the other way and they hooked onto the back of it, then turned at the next corner. 

Thanks to the tour they knew exactly where they were going. 

The plan was to split up, with Froggie and Vanessa heading to the lower level to turn off the power and then make their way out of the complex. Jason, Brett and Jodie were going to lay low until the power went out and then find Mera and get out of Ubri as quickly as possible. 

Fifteen minutes after they split up, Jason watched as the lights went out, leaving the complex in almost darkness. 

"Good job Froggie," Jason muttered as they made their way out of hiding. 

They luckily knew the area where Mera was being held so by going down the hallway, they were able to find her in a few minutes, since they had put names on all the doors. 

"What are you guys doing here?" Mera asked as they entered her room. 

Jason and Brett immediately sat down next her. Jodie stayed at the door as look out and kept a foot in the door since the door was locked on the outside and it wouldn't do them any good if they were locked in. 

Jason pulled out Neri's necklace from under the Ubri uniform. "Mera, you have a sister. We've come to take you out of here and take you to meet her." 

"What do you mean? My name's Mary." 

"Look we don't have a lot of time to explain. You have an almost exact replica of this necklace right? One that you've had for as long as you can remember? And you're also an orphan? And you can swim for hours on end?" 

"Well yes, but you could have found that out anywhere." 

"Mera, have you ever seen another necklace like this other than the one you have?" 

"No but…" 

"Than just trust us that you have a sister. We need to get you away from Ubri. They are not nice people, and I don't know how much longer the power will stay out." 

"You're responsible for the power going out?" 

"Yes, but don't worry about that now. Brett, you and Jodie go back to Orca when you reach the boat. Mera and I will swim back. We'll travel with you out of the complex but as soon as we get out you'll have to find your own way back to the boat." 

"Wait a minute, we're swimming somewhere?" 

Jason just nodded, and he and Brett herded her out the door, with Jodie right behind them. 

It was pretty easy to get out of the complex. Jason and Mera headed straight for the water and dived in. 

"Just follow me," Jason said right before they dived into the water. 

Halfway to Orca, Jali started following them and Jason pointed him out to Mera, scaring her. 

When they reached the platform, Jason told Mera to wait there while he dived down to the lab but Mera insisted on coming with him, saying she didn't want to be alone. 

Jason agreed and led her down to the bottom section of Orca. 

Only Winston was working in the lab when they reached the window. 

Jason knocked on the window to get his attention. 

Winston turned immediately to the window and smiled at them. 

He walked to the microphone a moment later and said: "Hi Mera, I'm Winston. Jason I'll go tell your Mom you were able to find her. Meet us on the platform, all right?" 

Jason nodded and led Mera back to the surface. 

They broke the surface a moment later and treaded water for a moment. "Why does everyone call me Mera?" she asked. 

"I realize you probably don't remember being called that, but that's your real name." 

Mera thought about that for a moment. "Actually, I do kind of remember someone calling me Mera a long time ago. How did you find out about me?" 

Jason began telling her about his family's connection to Neri, his living with her, the spacecraft and what they had learned from it when they heard a speedboat approach. 

Jason motioned for Mera to stay quiet and then looked over the edge of the platform. 

It was Brett and the rest of the group so Jason pulled himself onto the platform and then helped Mera up. 

"I'm glad to see you guys made it back all right," Jason said as he walked over to them. 

"Let me tell you though, it wasn't easy," Froggie commented. 

"I don't think we would have been able to escape at all if we hadn't turned off the power. The whole place was in chaos but we still almost got caught." 

"You must be Mera," Vanessa said shaking hands with the bewildered girl. "I'm Vanessa, a friend of your sister's. 

Everyone introduced themselves to Mera who was polite enough. 

"Mera, I should warn you. Neri, your sister, can be a little… overzealous sometimes," Jason said. 

Brett snorted. "Only a little?" 

"Okay, she can be really overzealous sometimes, but she's a good person." 

"How did you guys meet her?" 

"Well, that's an interesting story…" 

"Wait Jason, before you start telling that, does anyone know we're back?" Vanessa asked. 

"Yeah, that was the first thing I did when we got back. In fact, where are they?" 

"Right here," Dianne said as she, Winston and Neri stepped out of the lift. 

Neri and Mera just stood there a moment just looking at each other. 

Jason, comparing the two sisters when they were almost next to each other he could see they were truly sisters. 

Neri made the first move, stepping forward the few feet that separated her from Mera and embraced her. 

Mera only hesitated a moment before returning the hug. 

When the hug ended, Dianne moved forward and gave Mera a hug, surprising her. 

"Welcome to the family, honey," Dianne whispered as she hugged Mera. 

"The family?" 

"Mera, meet my mom," Jason said, putting a hand on Mera's shoulder. 

"We consider Neri to be a part of the family and we would gladly consider you the same," Dianne explained with a smile. 

"Thank you… Why did you come after me?" 

"We've had problems with Ubri before. They want Neri for her special abilities. I have no idea what they might have done to you, especially after what they did to Jali." 

"Jali?" 

"Do you remember when I pointed out that whale on our way here? That's Jali." 

"Wow, that's pretty neat. Do you think that I could make friends with a whale?" 

Jason smiled. "Ask Neri. She would know, not me." 

"We talk later. Show island now." 

"Island?" 

"Where Neri and I live." 

"Come. We go now." 

Mera gave another hug to Dianne. "It was nice to meet all of you," she said. 

"Wait, what about Neri and mine's outfits?" 

"We left them on the platform," Winston said, handing the respective to Neri and Jason. 

"You first," Jason said. 

Neri went behind a box and changed. 

"Mera, I have a new outfit for you too," Winston said, pulling out an outfit identical to Neri's  
. 

Mera took the outfit and unfolded it, holding it out to look at it. 

"Well, it's certainly better than what Ubri gave me," she said. 

Neri came out from behind the box changed into her regular dress. 

"You go ahead and change Mera," Jason said. 

"Umm, just one question. Am I to wear any underwear beneath it?" 

"What underwear?" 

Mera glanced Neri's way. "I guess that answers that question. I'll be right back," she said, going behind the box. 

"This feels strange," Mera said a minute later as she emerged from behind the box. 

"It easy with time," Neri said. 

"I'll be right back," Jason said. 

"What do I do with these clothes?" Mera asked. 

"I'll take them for you," Dianne said, taking the clothes from Mera and then Neri's Orca uniform from her. 

"Here Mom," Jason said after he was changed, handing his discarded clothes to her. 

"Thank for help," Neri said with a smile. 

"That's what family is for," Dianne said with a smile. 

++++++++++ 

Five months after Mera moved onto the island with Jason and Neri, the pair had to leave for migration. 

Brett moved to the island so that Mera wouldn't be alone for the next couple of of months, since she had no wish to stay on ORCA. 

They were on their way back from a rather uneventful migration when one afternoon, Jason surfaced for air and heard someone crying. He noticed a small raft not too far away from where he had surfaced with one figure in it, but the person was in such a worked-up condition that she didn't notice him. 

He quickly swam down to where Neri was waiting for him and quickly outlined what he had seen and heard. 

'What do?' 

'I think we should help her. She's out in the middle of nowhere and alone in that raft. The least we can do is search for a nearby boat for her to be rescued. I just hope she speaks English.' 

'I follow you,' Neri conceded. 

It didn't take them long to reach the surface next to the raft and for Jason to poke his head above the side. 

"Um, excuse me, do you speak English?" he asked sheepishly. 

The girl jerked her head up in complete surprise. "Yes I do. Where did you come from?" 

"Do you mind if we join you? You look like you need some assistance." 

"Of course." 

It only took Jason a few seconds to pull himself onto the small raft and to help Neri on. 

"What's your name?" Jason asked. 

"Amy. What are yours, and what are you doing out here without a boat?" 

"I'm Jason and this is Neri. As for what we're doing out here, well, that's kind of…" he said, trying to figure out a way not to have to tell her. 

"Confidential," Neri provided. 

"Is there some place we can take you, or is there any boats we can help you get to?" 

"I'm an orphan," Amy provided with a shrug. "My parents died when our boat was sunk by a large storm this morning. By all rights I should be dead too, but somehow I was able to hold my breath and wait it out in this raft." 

"No way," Jason said, immediately rummaging through the pack they carried with them. "Amy, were you found as a baby?" 

"Well, yes, actually. How did you know?" 

Neri caught on quickly to what Jason had and helped him look through the pack for the sheet of paper they had brought with them. 

"It's complicated. Let me just come out and tell you this. It's going to sound completely unrealistic to you probably but I think we have some more information on you than you do, where you come from and such." 

"How?" 

"Long story. I've known Neri for about three years. I first met her when my brother Brett and I found her living on an island by herself." 

"Live on island for years by self. Not have contact with others since father die," Neri helped. 

Jason explained how he and Neri had met and how she had become part of the family and their subsequent exploration of the spaceship. 

"We found that Neri was not the only person on Earth who had come on this doomed expedition. In fact there was a list of children who had been ejected from the craft just minutes before it crashed on the island. I think you might have been one of those children," he said spreading out the several pages of names and descriptions, having one on each page. 

"And you think I'm one of those kids?" Amy said, sounding incredulous. 

"Ever had trouble stay wet?" 

Amy looked confused so Jason tried to explain it better. "Have you ever felt like you needed to take a shower right then or that you couldn't get enough water?" 

"Yes actually." 

"One more question, that's all, I promise. How is your swimming ability, can you swim in the ocean? Do you have any trouble holding your breath for long periods of time?" 

"Yes and no." 

"That nearly cinches it then," Jason said. "I'll go get some food. Why don't you guys look through those profiles?" 

It didn't take long for Amy to find one of the profiles that not only fit her perfectly, but she swore she recognized one name in particular from memory: Undri. 

That evening, they were sitting on the raft eating the stuff Jason had brought up with him and were talking as they ate. 

"So you do this every year?" Undri asked once Jason and Neri explained just what they were doing in the middle of the ocean. 

"Neri has done it for many more years than I have," Jason admitted. "This is only my second year." 

"Oh." 

"Where you from?" Neri asked. 

"The coast of California in the United States. I was bounced around from one foster care home to another for years until a couple came along who not only had a pool, which I found I desperately needed to be any part of a home if I was going to be adopted by two people, but were also understanding to my needs." 

"That had to be a wonderful feeling." 

"Well, it turned out that they had adopted a boy and a girl a few years ago with the same needs as me. Unfortunately, as they later told me, the pair disappeared a couple of years ago and no one had seen them." 

"Do you know what they're names were?" 

"Umm, no, they never told me and I never thought to ask, sorry." 

"What happened that forced you out here?" 

"We were traveling by boat to Japan when a really bad storm hit us. It overturned the boat unfortunately and killed my adoptive parents." 

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jason said with a sad smile. 

"I only knew them for a short time," Undri admitted with a shrug. "Where do we go from here?" 

"Well, Neri and I are heading home and you're welcome to come with us. We have more than enough room on the island for one more person." 

"I'd appreciate that. Thanks." 

"No problem." 

++++++++++ 

Two weeks later the reached home, climbing onto the beach. 

"Finally," Undri said with a sigh. "Dry land." 

Jason laughed. "I take it you didn't enjoy swimming for two weeks straight?" 

"No not at all quite honestly. I don't ever want to do that again if I can help it. It had nothing to do with the two of you. I mean, the two of you were great to me, it's just that I don't enjoy swimming for THAT long without being able to put my feet on land." 

"I can understand that. If it wasn't for Neri, I would never have started going on this yearly trip; that plus my mother's neurotic thoughts that Neri shouldn't go on another migration alone." 

"What's that about Mom being neurotic?" Mera asked as she and Brett came around a bend in the path. 

"Mom is neurotic, Mera," Brett said with a grin. 

There were quick hugs all around before Mera noticed Undri standing behind Jason and Neri. "Who is that?" she asked. 

"I'm Undri." 

"We're pretty sure she came from the same place you and Neri came from." 

"Wow, that's awesome," Brett said. 

"Welcome," Mera said to the suddenly shy Undri, who nodded. 

"What has been happening here?" Jason asked as they started walking farther into the island. 

"Well, I'll start off with the biggest news. Mom and Winston are engaged!" Mera exclaimed. 

"Really? I didn't know they were even starting to get involved in that way." 

"Neither had we, actually, until they came here one day and announced it to us. Apparently, they had been going out for about 5 months before Winston proposed to her." 

"Wow." 

++++++++++ 

That night, all seven of them were sitting around a fire after dinner talking. 

"Jali say he let other whales know we looking," Neri commented at one point. "Others hear about hopefully." 

"That's good," Dianne said. 

"Have you set a date for the wedding yet?" Jason asked. 

"Nope, we wanted to wait till the two of you got home." 

It was several hours before anyone went to sleep that night. 

The End 

Author's note: sorry this was so long in coming. It won't take so long for me to get the next one out. As always, any feedback is welcome.  



	3. Part 3

By Sambrea The Long and Winding Road Part 3 

By Sambrea 

Chapter 1 

It was a month before Dianne and Winston got married, right on the beach of the island in a small ceremony with a few friends from Orca attending. 

Mera got a whale friend of her own, Enri, who was a killer whale. 

It didn't take long for them to decide to give up their jobs at Orca and move to the island after the opportunity came for the five of them to open a wildlife reserve after the possibility was raised by Undri. 

Along with the nests, Dianne and Winston decided to build a house for themselves so that they wouldn't have to try to climb into trees every night, which wasn't easy for them to do. 

Two weeks after the house was finished, the seven of them were sitting around a campfire after dinner when two figures walked into the firelight, side by side. 

One was a young man about Undri's age with blond hair and brown eyes and wearing a wetsuit like Jason and Brett were. The girl was a little shorter than him, but also dressed in a wetsuit. 

"May I help you?" Dianne asked, coming to stand behind Jason and the rest of the family. 

"Hi, my name's Ris and this is Zara," the boy said. "We and our friends Doyt and Fala were told by a whale named Enri that we'd find others like us here," he said with an American accent. 

The six of them just stared at him. 

"Wonderful," he muttered, rolling his eyes and starting to turn around. "I just told our secret to the wrong people." 

"No, have right people," Neri said. "Just surprised. I Neri, this Jason, Brett, sister Mera and Undri." 

"I'm Dianne and this is my husband Winston. It's nice to finally meet someone who is part of that group." 

"Actually we know several people that you're probably looking for," Zara said. 

"Undri, would you mind running over to the house and getting that list?" 

"Sure, I'll be back in a minute," she said, leaving the area of firelight. 

"Where are you guys from?" Dianne asked as the eight of them sat down. 

"Off the coast of Washington state in the United States. We live on an island like this one." 

"Do you have family?" 

"No, I moved to the island about five years ago after I met Fala." Ris answered. 

"What about you?" 

"I don't either, but we have a large extended family on the island. 

"What kind of whales are Fala and Doyt?" Mera asked. 

"They're actually bottlenose dolphins." 

Undri returned then, list in hand and handed it to Dianne. 

"How old are the two of you?" 

"We're both fifteen," Zara answered. "What is that?" 

Dianne handed the list to her. "It's a list of everyone who were on the spacecraft." 

"Spacecraft?" 

Neri quickly explained what she and Jason had found in the spacecraft. 

"We know nearly everyone on this list," Zara said. "We all live together on the same island. The only names I don't recognize are Hali and Dore. But otherwise we live with six others on the island." 

Everyone grinned. "Would they be willing to relocate down here?" 

Ris shrugged. "I'm not sure. Why?" 

"We're looking for all of the kids that were in the spacecraft, not just because they have a right to know who they are but they should also know who is out there that is like them." 

"It shouldn't be too hard to relocate," Zara said, thinking aloud. "We all swim extremely well and for almost all of us it's really just a home for only half a year. There are only four who are truly permanent residents but they would still be able to make the trip." 

"We probably should take a couple of people with us though," Ris commented. 

"We go," Neri said, meaning her and Jason. 

"When do you leave?" Dianne asked. 

Ris was silent for a moment. "Not until the start of fall down here." 

Dianne nodded right before Mera asked: "Have you two ever slept in a nest?' 

"Your kidding right? That's what we use on the other island." 

"Perfect," Dianne said. "Undri, do you mind taking the guest room in the house and we can build another nest tomorrow." 

"Nope," Undri said. "I was going to offer anyways." 

"I've been talking to Enri," Mera said. "He says that with help from other creatures he's been able to find the other four kids but no one knows when they will get here though." 

"Wonderful. Let's try and get some sleep now. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow," Dianne said. 

Chapter 2 

A few months later, the four of them left. Jason and Neri had taught Ris and Zara the basics of the sign system they used. 

It turned out that even though they didn't always travel together they used a similar system when they did. 

A month after leaving the island, they reached the shores of the second island. 

"Nice," Neri said, looking around. 

"Have either of you ever been to the Pacific Northwest?" Zara asked as they walked inland. 

Jason shook his head. "The only place I've ever lived is Australia and I've never had the chance to visit the United States." 

A couple minutes later, they were met by a group of eight people on the trail. 

"Welcome home," a girl said, hugging both Ris and Zara while the rest of the group stared at Jason. 

"And these are?" she said, turning to look at Jason Bates. 

"I'm Jason and this is Neri," Jason said, shaking her hand before Neri did the same. 

"Roj," she said, and then turned to Ris. "What are they doing here?" 

"He's got two sisters who are like all of us who live here," Ris said. 

"And this affects us how?" 

Jason took his pack off his shoulder and took out the list. "We're kind of the spokespeople for our family, you could say," he said, handing the list to Roj. "My family lives on an island off Australia. 

"About four or five years ago, me, my brother Brett, and my mother moved to a scientific community called Orca so my Mom could do some research on whale songs. 

"When we went to tag on, Jali, I was the one to do it. Well, Neri stopped me. I moved to the island a year later where she taught me to swim like her. I was able to convince her to come look at the craft that was in the middle of what we call the badlands." 

"How come this list has all of us on it?" Roj asked, causing a stir among the kids behind her. 

"I was just getting to that. When we cleared away all of the cobwebs we activated a program of Neri's father. Basically, he told us what had happened to the craft and about Neri's sister Mera. It also brought us a lot of information, including this list. 

"We located another name on that list last year, Undri, and then started the search for everyone else after that." 

"All right, but why are they two of you here?" 

"We want make you part of family," Neri said as the list was passed among the kids. 

"You mean we'd have a mom and dad?" a younger girl asked from nearer to the back of the group. 

"Of course. When you join a family you get a mother, a father and in this case two brothers and three sisters and probably even more as we find the rest of the kids on the list." 

"We're going to have to make a group decision on this," Roj said. "You're welcome to stay on the island until we do." 

"Thank you." 

++++++++++ 

The group made the decision the next morning, which was to relocate. 

Five kids stayed behind on the island, including Ris, Zara and Neri when they left early that afternoon but promised to make their way to the island once their time for migration came. 

It took two months to get to the island, since they had two different species of sea-going mammal to contend with: a pair of humpback whales, and a pair of killer whales; plus a pair of kids who didn't have any friends like that, Cade and Dard who were the youngest of the whole group and the most unusual since Cade was completely deaf. 

Chapter 3 

Over the next few days, everyone got used to life on the island. 

Dianne and Cade became really close as mother and daughter, making both of them very happy. 

Brett and Mera left on migration a few days later and a month after that, the rest of the group from the island arrived. 

Two months after the arrival of the second group, the last two kids arrived, Hali and Dore not long after dinner when everyone was sitting on the porch. 

"I think we finally arrived Hali," the boy said. 

Dianne glanced at Neri, stood up and walked across the lawn to where Hali and Dore were standing and hugged the pair. 

"Welcome to the family," she said as everyone came off the porch. 

"I'm Hali and this is Dore. I'm sorry it took us so long to get here." 

"It's all right. Come join us on the porch." 

"Where are you guys from?" Brett asked as they all sat back down. 

"The east coast of Canada not far from the United States border," Dore answered. 

"Do either of you have families?" Dianne asked. 

"I do," Hali said. "Does that make any difference?" 

"No, of course not. I was just curious. Do your parents know where you are?" 

Hali shook her head. "We usually don't even come near Australia. In fact, I bet they're wondering where we went. Can I call them?" 

Dianne nodded. "Sure. We don't get much use out of it anyways. Jason, you want to introduce everyone?" Dianne suggested as she and Hali went into the house. 

++++++++++ 

After a minute, Dianne was able to get through and hand the phone to Hali. 

"Hello?" a woman asked. 

"Mom? It's Hali." 

"Hali? Oh my gosh. Honey, where are you? Are all of you all right?" 

"We're perfectly fine Mom. We're in Australia." 

"Where?! What are you doing in Australia?" 

Giva and Duc heard about a family down here that is made almost entirely up of people like me and Dore." 

"You're kidding right?" 

"No." 

"Dianne put a hand on Hali's shoulder. "Do you want me to talk to her?" 

Hali nodded and handed the phone to Dianne. 

"Hello?" Dianne said as she put it to her ear. 

"May I ask who I'm speaking to?" 

"My name's Dianne Bates. I'm kind of the head of the family though I'm not sure you can even call me that since there are seventeen of us not counting Hali and Dore." 

"Wow. Any you live in a house?" 

"No, Mrs…" 

"Please, just call me Dorothy." 

"No, Dorothy. We don't live in a house; we live on an island. Everyone but me and my husband sleep in nests in trees." 

"Wow. That would be interesting to see. So how did you get involved in this group of kids?" 

"Well, that's a rather long and complicated story. One I'd much rather not get into at this point on the phone." 

"That's fine. I was wondering though what Hali is going to do." 

"Well, among our family she's unique. We haven't come across any kids that has that have a family of their own. In fact we found ten kids living on an island off the coast of Washington state in the US. That was lucky." 

"Why?" 

Diane explained about the spacecraft and the list they had found. 

"We don't force anyone to do anything here, including live here," Dianne said after she told Dorothy about the list. "It's up to them if they want to stay. I'm kind of curious: what do you do about education?" 

"I homeschool both Hali and Dore. I don't really have a whole lot of choice. What about you?" 

"We really don't have any sort of schooling set up here. I of course encourage everyone to read, but it'd be impossible to get books for fifteen children." 

"Why?" 

Well, a lot of it has to do with the fact that these kids are at all different academic levels. My son Jason actually had to teach Neri to read a few years ago, and I haveno way of knowing where the others are. There's also the small point that all of these kids aren't an official part of our family." 

"Why not?' 

"Well for one thing, no one really knows Neri exists. I think Mera and Undri are considered to be dead, and there would be a lot of questions about how ten kids from the US got here." 

"All right. I can see how that would be a problem." 

"What about you?" 

"I adopted Hali long before she met Dore. We kind of adopted him too, but like your family, we never adopted him officially." 

"I'll let you talk to Hali now," Dianne said. 

"Thanks," Hali said as Dianne gave the phone back. 

"Hey mom." 

"What are you going to do?" 

"I'd like to stay here for a while. Can you tell Shannon I won't be home this year?" 

"Sure. I'll let her know. Can I talk to Dianne again?" 

Hali handed the phone to Dianne. 

"If you want to, you're welcome to go back onto the porch with the others." 

Hali nodded and smiled. "Thanks." 

Dianne put the phone up to her ear. "Dorothy?" 

"Take good care of them all right?" 

"Of course. I've got an idea. Why don't you come visit us here?" 

"I'd like that." 

"Who's Shannon?" 

"She's Hali's best friend. She lives down the street from us. I don't think she'd have any friends other than Dore otherwise. She knows Hali's secret and they're wonderful friends." 

"Why don't you bring Shannon with you then?" 

"That would be a wonderful surprise for Hali. I'll talk to Shannon's parents." 

"Do they know about Hali?" 

"Yes actually. Shannon asked her permission first, and Hali and Dore helped to tell them." 

"I'm going to give you our phone numbers here," Dianne said, giving the numbers for both the house and the visitor's center." 

"Can you tell me what time it is there so I know what the time difference is?" 

Dianne told her. 

"I'll leave you guys to have a nice evening then." 

They said goodbye, Dianne hung up and headed back onto the porch. 

Everyone was stiiting and talking so Dianne took a seat next to Winston. 

"I was just about to tell the story of how we met Neri," Jason said as Dianne sat down. 

Dianne smiled. "Go right ahead. 

"The telling of the story took nearly an hour since Jason told all the events that had happened to almost right up before Hali and Dore had arrived. 

By the time the story was finished, almost all of the younger kids were falling asleep. 

Author's note: this is only the third part of many parts!  



	4. Part 4

Author's Note: Even though this is the fourth part in "The Long and Winding Road" I've been thinking about doing this for some time and this is the culmination of those strange thoughts. I REALLY recommend that you read my Luna series before you read this. If you don't want to read it, email me, and I'll give you the gist. 

The Long and Winding Road Part 4   
By Sambrea 

Three years after leaving the island for Canada, Hali, Dore, and Undri returned for a year and a half vacation from school for Undri and their parents for Hali and Dore. 

"I just graduated high school about a month ago, so I'll be heading to college once I return to Canada," Undri said on their first night back. 

"Do you know what you want to study?" Dianne asked. 

Undri grinned. "I have a few ideas. All of which are somewhat… unusual." 

"What about you?" Jason asked Hali and Dore. 

Hali shrugged. "I don't have any plans for the next few years." 

"Me either," Dore added with a shrug of his own. 

"We've still got a couple of years before we're old enough to make decisions about what to REALLY do with our lives," Hali amended. 

++++++++++ 

A few mornings later, a screaming warning from Jali woke Neri from a deep sleep. 

You have to warn everyone. There's a giant tidal wave headed your way. It's passing ORCA now and is picking up speed and height. It's going to swamp the whole island Neri. 

Are we safe? 

Everyone in the trees should be, it's going to hit you guys last, but you've only got a couple of minutes to get Mother and Winston out of the house. It's going to hit that side of the island first. 

That woke Neri right up. 

She sat straight up and shook Jason. "Jason wake up. Tidal wave come now." 

"What?" he asked sleepily. "What tidal wave?" 

"Jali says tidal wave comes. Get on cliff." 

Ten minutes later, they were running for the top of the cliff, the highest point on the island, the sound of rushing water filling their ears. 

When they reached the cliff, water could already be seen flowing over the beach and making its way inland toward the Visitor's Center and house. 

Dianne and Winston had gone to the mainland over night to get some time to themselves and celebrate their anniversary. 

They watched as the VC collapsed under the pressure of the water, and then ten minutes later when the house collapsed. 

Everyone sat down, realizing they were going to have to wait for a few hours before the water receded. 

Roj yelled just loud enough for everyone to hear about an hour after the house collapsed and pointed to a large vehicle heading toward the cliff. 

The vehicle, which looked more like a bus than a helicopter landed not long after. 

Someone opened the door and motioned for the group to come over. 

They all looked at each other before Jason shrugged. 

"We should at least check it out," he signed. 

"You first," Roj signed back. 

"All right." 

As Jason took the lead, everyone else fell into line behind him. 

"Umm, hello," the lady said, who had opened the door. "Do you kids want to come in here so we can talk?" 

"All right," Jason agreed reluctantly. 

All seventeen of them filed into the vehicle, which was surprisingly spacious inside and found seats around a large table. 

"My name is Kathryn Janeway," the woman said as she sat down at the last open seat. "Is there going to be any problems if we sit here? I realize a great deal of this island is under water right now." 

Neri finally answered when no one else did. "The cliff is the tallest area. It should be all right." 

"Where are your parents?" 

"They are spending the weekend on the mainland." 

Jason saw Kathryn flinch when Neri said that. 

"All right," the woman acknowledged. There was an awkward silence before asked: "Why are you here?" 

"I was 'volunteered' early this morning to come find out how an entire island got transported here." 

"Excuse me?" Brett was the first to ask. 

"I'm a resident of a planet named Luna. 

"We get a great deal of misplaced groups here from different realities. I have to admit though, that you're the largest group yet." 

"We're no longer on Earth?" Mera asked. 

"No. Do you have any idea how that might have happened?" 

"I do," Jason said slowly. 

"The spaceship?" Neri signed. 

Jason nodded his agreement. 

"Do you guys have a much higher tech level or something?" Mera asked, looking around. 

"For the most part that is true, though we tend to share a great deal." 

"But if we're not on Earth, we'll never see Mom and Winston again!" Cade signed frantically. 

"No kidding," Jason said with a sigh as Roj reached over and gave Cade a hug. 

"Why are you signing instead of talking?" 

"I'm deaf," Cade said, signing at the same time. 

"Wow. We have a policy of letting people make their own decisions here, no matter their age. I can understand if all of you want to continue living on this island?" 

"What is the other option?" Neri asked. 

"There are a large amount of us living on a ranch named Second Beginnings, only a few of, which, including myself, are actually from this dimension. Everyone else is from other dimension. Basically, my family specializes in helping groups adjust to life here on Luna. 

"I realize this is probably a lot to swallow and that it's going to take a few hours for the water to recede from the island, do you want to come over to the ranch for a while? We can help you guys figure out where to go form here, explain some more about Luna and introduce you to some other people, all right?" 

"That sounds fine," Jason agreed after a moment of signing with the others. 

"I'll start this thing going and come back in a minute." 

++++++++++ 

Fifteen minutes later, they touched down near several houses and Kathryn led them out of the bus. 

Soon they were being introduced to about twenty people, all of whom had questions for them. 

"Are you guys Australian?" a woman named Phoebe asked. 

Jason and Neri glanced at each other. "Well, my brother Brett and I are," Jason answered. "Neri, Mera and everyone else are from a place we call PO." 

"PO? I don't know of any city called PO." 

"It is not a city. It is short for Planet of the Oceans," Neri answered. 

"Planet of the Oceans?" Kathryn exclaimed, overhearing the conversation. "Most of you aren't human?" 

Neri nodded. 

"There's a good possibility we know what the culprit of being sent here is," Jason admitted with a sigh. 

They now had everyone's attention on the field. 

"What would that be?" 

"The spaceship we have buried on the island," Neri explained. 

"Spaceship? You guys have a spaceship on your island?" 

"Yeah, we do," Jason said with a nod. "Neri and I have been inside of it." 

"That is where we found out about the rest of the group that came from PO." 

"Is it possible to still get into it?" 

Jason shrugged. "I won't know till I see it. We sort of made it into a hill after we last went into it. It'll depend on how much dirt washed away, we might have to dig a bit." 

"All right. Do you guys want something to drink?" 

"Some water would be great, thank you," Jason said for everyone. 

++++++++++ 

That afternoon, Jason, Neri, Mera, Brett, Kathryn and another person from the ranch named Tom Paris entered the spaceship. 

Neri went straight over to where they had seen the blinking light the first time and after brushing back the cobwebs called Jason over. 

"Another blinking light," she said. 

"What does that mean?" Tom asked. 

"It means that there is another message waiting for us," Jason said with a sigh. "So go ahead and push it." 

Neri did, and a hologram of her father popped up. 

"Dear daughter, I hope you have found Mera and the rest of our people misplaced because I set something up that I hope will help all of you. This spaceship was programmed to transport the entire island back home to the Planet of the Oceans three years after you activated my first message. 

"Please forgive me if it didn't work or something went wrong. I have the spaceship programmed to return the island to Earth after one year so you have a way out if you need it. 

"My dear daughter, I promise that this is the last message you will ever get from me, and that other than the return program, there is nothing more programmed into the spaceship. I wish I could see you and Mera but since I can't, I hope the two of you have wonderful lives and find the chance for love and family in either each other and the others of your people or a family on Earth. Goodbye my daughters." 

Author's note: I don't feel like trying to figure out how much time has passed since that first message, all right? If someone wants to try to, feel free to tell me. 

The hologram winked out and Neri hanged her head. 

"Hey," Jason said opening his arms up. "Come here." 

Neri fled into his arms, burying her head in his shoulder. 

"Well, that explained a lot more than I expected," Kathryn said quietly, letting Neri have a moment. 

"So that's what dad looked like," Mera said quietly as Brett laid a hand on her shoulder and she grabbed it. 

Jason noticed Tom take something out of his pocket and unfold it. It started beeping as he pressed buttons and whistled. "There's a ton of power running through this thing," he said, handing the device to Kathryn. 

"How can that be?" 

"It might be on some kind of reusable energy," Tom said as Kathryn handed the device back to him. "Otherwise, I don't have a clue." 

"That would make sense," Brett said as he squeezed Mera's hand. "Neri, you've been here for how long?" 

"Fifteen years." 

"At least you can leave in a year," Kathryn said with a sigh. "Most of the people you met at the ranch are stuck here probably for the rest of their lives." 

"It's going to be hell finding our parents when we get back though," Brett said, finally wrapping his arms around Mera and gently setting his head on her shoulder as she covered his hands with her own. 

"Let's go let the others know what we found," Jason finally said as Neri lifted her head from his shoulder. 

Chapter 2 

One year later, Neri and Jason were enjoying a gentle romance and had learned to pilot a large vehicle they finally named Eagle that was the size of a RV or bus so that they could make the trip to PO when they returned to Earth in another six months. The "lessons" had included several week-long excursions into the surrounding areas of space in the trading convoy that had been put together, which gave them a lot of time to themselves. 

The entire group remained on the island and after rebuilding the house with the help of some of the Lunites, they started giving tours of the island. 

There had been only a tiny amount of information about PO in the databases from Voyager, only that the Enterprise-B had contacted the planet at one point, and asked that they be left alone. 

"Oh, great, that tells us nothing." 

Jali, Enri, and the rest of their aquatic friends hadn't made the trip with them unfortunately so everyone was a little worried about if they would be able to return to the lifestyle they had had before leaving. 

"Neri and I are going to leave for PO really late tomorrow night," Jason told their family and everyone from the ranch as they sat around a giant bonfire the evening they were to leave and return to Earth. 

"That will leave all of you to find Mother. Are you all right with that?" Neri asked. 

"How long will it take?" Mera asked. 

"It depends on what we find. I don't know. Probably three years," Jason said with a sigh. 

"Well, I hope you find your parents and that you find some friendly people on PO," Kathryn said. 

"Thank you. We've made so many friends here, I know none of us will ever forget this place." 

"We won't ever forget you guys either. You know, something we don't have of you is a picture. We should take one." 

Neri smiled. "We do not have one of all of us either." 

"You're kidding. Really?" 

"No," Brett said with a shake of his head. "I don't think Mom has a picture of even just me and Jason, does she?" 

"Not that I know of." 

"Can we get a picture of all of us then?" Kathryn asked. "You guys can have a couple copies." 

"That would be great," Neri said with a smile. "We can have one at the house, and take one with us on the Eagle." 

"Too bad Mother and Winston aren't here," Mera said with a sigh. 

"You miss them a lot don't you?" Chakotay, Kathryn's husband asked softly. 

"Mom and Winston have taken so much in stride, between having our family grow into having nineteen members in three years, to having their children spend six months a year out on migration. We certainly didn't expect our lives to take such a giant turn, but I don't think any of us would trade it for anything," Jason said with a smile. 

"I so hope you can find them," Be'lanna said. 

"There's something that might happen when we return, that I don't want to think about," Jason said quietly. "What if they moved back to the island after we came here? Will they be transported here?" 

"Well, that's an interesting question that we haven't considered," Kathryn admitted. "I guess we won't find out until tomorrow. If that does happen though, we'll let them know you were here, and I promise we'll take good care of them. Do you want to write a note for them?" 

"Please." 

"Let me go get some paper," Phoebe, Kathryn and Chakotay's daughter, said, standing up and walking away from the circle. 

It took ten minutes for the whole group to write out the message with everyone adding their own words to the several page letter. 

"Let me go get a camera," Kathryn said. 

"And a tripod," Chakotay called after her. 

Only a few minutes later, they were all standing in front of the camera, with the backdrop of the multiple houses. 

"Say cheese," Kathryn said before running to her place in the group next to Chakotay. 

"Cheese," everyone said, grinning. 

It wasn't that complicated of a picture, with the Bates all together on one side of the group and everyone from the ranch on the other. 

"Let me get this developed quick and I'll take you guys back to the island," Kathryn said walking toward her house. 

"I guess we should say our goodbyes now," Brett said. 

++++++++++ 

Ten minutes later, the Bates family left the ranch for what they thought would be the last time ever. 

Author's note: Ok, the only reason I really wrote this section was for the spacecraft so that I can make them travel to PO in the next part. I'm sorry that it's so short but it's more of a side note to me than a major part of the series. As for that last sentence…well make of it what you will, I'm not giving out any spoilers for what will happen later. 

Please send me feedback!!   



	5. Part 5

The Long and Winding Road, Part 5   
By Sambrea 

The morning after, Jason rolled over and slammed his hand down on the alarm as it went off at three and groaned. 

"Come on," Neri said as she bounced out of bed. 

"How can you be so enthusiastic Neri? It's 3 am," Jason said with a groan as she turned on the light. 

"I will be glad to start this journey," she said. 

"I wish we could see Mom before we go," Jason said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. 

"Brett and Mera have our note. Let's go," Neri said, pulling him off the bed. 

"All right, all right. You start the systems up, I'm going to replicate some coffee," Jason said as he followed her out of their small bedroom at the back of the Eagle toward the front, past the little sitting area and to the kitchen, where he stopped and she kept going to the front. 

"You want anything?" he asked as he heard her start warming up the systems. 

"A glass of water please," she called back. 

"Are the sensors working yet?" he asked as he sat down next to her. 

"Yes, we are back on Earth," she said, taking the glass of water from him. 

"Great," Jason said with a sigh. "Do you want to take off, or do you want me to?" he asked as he set down his drink in the holder they had asked be installed in the modified dashboard. 

"You can," Neri said, pushing back her chair and going back to the sitting area where Jason assumed she wanted to get her last view of the island for a couple of years. 

One minute later they were in orbit, taking one full rotation around the Earth for fun and Jason joined Neri in the sitting area. 

"I've got it programmed to do a full orbit and then head out towards PO, all right?" he said as he sat down across from Neri and picked up a book from the table. 

Neri nodded as she picked up her own book. "It is a wonderful view." 

++++++++++ 

Later that morning, Kathryn woke up to her communicator beeping. 

"Kathryn here," she said sleepily as she pushed it. 

"Hey, I know you wanted to find out what happened to the island as soon as possible," Harry said as she glanced over at the clock, which said 6 am. 

"So what happened last night?" 

"Well, seventeen familiar life signs disappeared about one o'clock last night, and two new ones showed up in their place." 

"Oh no," Kathryn said, understanding the significance of that, covering her eyes with one hand as Chakotay started waking up. 

"Yeah, it looks like what you thought might happen did, unfortunately." 

"We'll head over there later this morning. It's still a little early to wake those poor people up with something like this." 

"All right, that makes sense. Let us know how it goes, all right?" 

"Of course. Thanks for the update, Harry." 

"Did I hear right? Their parents are here now?" Chakotay asked, wrapping his wife in a hug. 

"God, I hoped that wouldn't happen to that poor family. They're such wonderful people and they certainly don't deserve to be separated like that." 

"I couldn't agree with you more. Unfortunately, it didn't happen that way." 

"Let's go in a couple hours. It's far too early," Kathryn said, closing her eyes again. 

++++++++++ 

Two hours later, Kathryn, Tom, Phoebe, Wade and Rachel touched the Phoenix down on the island, on top of the cliff, just like the first day they had met the Bates kids. 

"Wow, this looks exactly like the other island," Tom said, shaking his head. 

"I know," Kathryn said. "Do you have a fix on those two life signs?" 

"Yep. Follow me." 

A minute later, they were standing in front of a one story, light blue house with white trim. 

"What a cute little house," Wade said with a smile. 

"Yeah, it's great. Come on," Kathryn said walking up the two stairs to the porch 

Kathryn knocked on the door after opening the screen door. 

There was a couple of barks before a lady said "Annette, stop it." 

"Umm, hello," the lady said after slipping onto the porch. "Sorry about that. Can I help you?" 

"Umm, it's more like, can we help you," Kathryn said, realizing she had no clue what to say. 

"Please tell me your not some religious fanatics who came all the way out here to try to convert us," Dianne said rolling her eyes. 

"Not at all." 

"Ok. Then why are you here?" 

"We know your children," Wade said softly. 

Dianne's jaw dropped. "Do you want to come in?" she finally asked. I'll get my husband and you can explain what you mean." 

"That would be great," Kathryn said with a sigh of relief. 

"Please sit down. My name is Dianne. We don't have much but would you guys like some coffee or water?" 

"Coffee, please," Kathryn said and everyone else agreed. 

"I'll tell my husband to come down and then get a pot going," Dianne said as their Labrador puppy found courage to come check out the newcomers. 

"What now?" Tom asked 

"Now we explain what the heck has been going on for the last year," Kathryn said, taking out the letter and their copy of the picture taken the night before. 

A minute later, Dianne came back into the room right in front of her a man Kathryn assumed was Winston. 

I'm Winston," the man said as he sat down and Dianne went into the kitchen 

"I'm Kathryn Janeway and these are Tom, Wade and Rachel." 

"You said you know our children?" Dianne asked as she came back and sat down next to her husband. "Where are they?" 

"Let me start at the beginning," Kathryn said. "Otherwise I think this is going to get too confusing for you." 

"All right, that seems reasonable." 

"Tom and I are a couple of the founders of a colony we call Luna. It is not on Earth and from here it takes about ten years to reach our Earth. We've lived here for seven or eight years and as time has passed we have attracted several groups of people who don't belong in our time but don't have any way to go home. Wade here is a member of the group that is the sole exception to that rule, but Rachel, we don't even really have a clue how her group got here in the first place so we can't send them back. 

"A year ago, I got an early morning call to come check out an island that had suddenly become inhabited overnight. I found seventeen children living on the island, your children. As it turned out, they knew exactly how they had gotten here: the spaceship you guys buried on the island. There was a message waiting for them from Neri and Mera's father saying that he had programmed the ship to return to the Planet of the Oceans and then return to Earth one year later. They returned, we are assuming, to their Earth last night. 

"Jason thought of this scenario yesterday evening, but none of us wanted to see it happen." 

"What scenario?" 

"When you realized that all of your kids were gone, did you move back onto the island?" 

"Yes, of course we did. We were hoping they would return some day," Dianne answered. 

"Dianne, when they returned, I think the two islands flip-flopped and you ended up here while they returned home." 

"Oh god no," Dianne said, burying her head in Winston's shoulder. 

"Is there any chance we'll ever see them again." 

"With this place, there's always a chance, but I think it's pretty small," Kathryn said gently. "I know it's not much of a consolation, but I do have a couple things for you. We took this picture just yesterday. Your family is on the left, and the rest of those people are what makes up my family. You can have the picture, it'll mean so much more to you, I think." 

Dianne hesitantly took the picture. "Thank you." 

"There's something else. When we realized that this was a possibility, every single one of your children wrote the two of you a note," Wade said, handing the stack of paper to the woman. 

"Thank you, it'll be nice to read that." 

"You might want to spread them out and make them last for a while," Rachel suggested. 

"You've got an adorable dog," Tom said, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little as he scratched Annette's head. "Your children never mentioned a dog." 

"We didn't get her until after we were all separated," Dianne said with a bit of a smile, still leaning against Winston. "Our lives were so boring with only the two of us, we needed something to make it more interesting, and Annette certainly brings that into our lives." 

"I think we'll let the two of you be alone for a little while," Kathryn said as she stood up, taking a communicator out of her pocket. "You can contact me with this, it's a direct line to my house. Just press the top and you should get somebody. If you feel up to it later, I can bring you over to the ranch so you can meet everyone, all right?" 

"Thank you," Dianne said, taking the small device from her. 

Author's note: I wrote this just as something to let you all know what happened with Dianne and Winston. They will be back later in the series, but that's all I'm going to say. 

Chapter 1 

Six months after leaving Earth, Jason and Neri reached orbit around PO. 

They had met a few other space faring cultures along the way, including the Vulcans, even trading for fresh food when possible. 

"Unidentified vessel. Remove yourself from this solar system. It is inhabited and we will shoot you if you come any closer." 

Jason ran over to the pilot's seat as quick as he could to shut down the engines, with Neri right behind him. 

"Wonderful," Jason muttered. "You want to do the honors, or should I?" 

"You can," Neri said as she slipped into her seat. 

"Eagle to Planet of the Oceans. Please come in." 

There was a long moment of silence before a face popped up. 

"Eagle you have already been warned about leaving this system. You better have a good reason for ignoring it." 

Jason sighed. "My name is Jason Bates. I'm from a planet named Earth. My family knows fifteen of your people who were sent there." 

The lady's eyebrows went up an inch. "You do? Do you have any proof?" 

"Now that I think about it, we don't have much," Jason admitted before getting an idea. "Neri, we brought all that stuff with us from the island right?" 

Neri caught on right away. "I will send it over," she said, pressing several buttons. 

"We're transmitting some records to you right now. We found them inside the spacecraft that brought the children there." 

"If you would stay in orbit, I will take this to my superiors." 

"We won't go anywhere," Jason said, closing the line before setting the computer to take them into orbit. 

++++++++++ 

An hour later, the computer beeped. Jason was reading a book while they waited, sitting in his front seat. 

"Jason here," he said, pushing a button. 

"Our king is very much interested in meeting the two of you. I am sending you the coordinates right now. You can land your craft there." 

"Thank you," Jason said before closing the channel. 

He entered the coordinates into the computer and started it heading down to the planet before heading to the back of the Eagle. 

"What is going on?" Neri asked as she stuck her head out of the bathroom. 

"We've been invited to meet the king, I guess we've got to put on our good clothes." 

Though neither of them were very comfortable in the clothes, they had both agreed that nice clothes would be necessary. 

Jason's outfit was a pair of black dress pants and a light blue long-sleeved shirt with a black and white tie. Neri had a dark green, ankle length, short-sleeved dress and had learned to braid her hair back and had it tied with a white ribbon. 

It took a couple of minutes for them to get ready and by that time the Eagle had landed and Jason could see people waiting for them outside. 

"You look great," Jason said softly as Neri joined him 

"Thank you. You do too," Neri said after they shared a quick kiss. 

Jason grabbed the family photo off of the table where they had left it before exiting the Eagle. 

"Jason?" a lady standing right at the door asked when they opened the door. "My name is Dasan and I am here to take care of any needs the two of you might have. Would you like a chance to get ready or would you like to meet with the king right away?" 

"We would like to meet with the king right away, please," Jason said with a little smile. "We've been stuck in that thing for six months. That was more than enough time to get ready for this meeting." 

"You spent six months getting here? In that thing?" 

"There is enough room for two people to travel comfortably in there. Add another person and it would get crowded," Neri answered. 

"She's right," Jason agreed. "We've got a bedroom in the back but its for two people and except for the bathroom, everything else is one big room." 

"Why did you come?" 

"Everyone wants to know who their families are. We don't have very much information." 

"Well, here we are," Dasan said as she opened the door and followed the pair inside. 

Two guards were standing to either side of another pair of doors right inside and Dasan led them inside the second pair. 

"You're on your own from here," she said, before stepping out of the way. 

"The large room had a throne at one end and was almost completely filled with people, making both Jason and Neri uncomfortable. 

Jason sighed a little bit before he and Neri walked down the aisle. 

They stopped a few feet from the throne and Jason bowed while Neri dropped a curtsey. 

"Umm, I've got to be honest sir. I really don't know where to start," Jason said sheepishly to the man on the throne. "Neither of us have any experience with meeting with royalty." 

"That is quite all right," the man said as he stood up and walked down the two steps to stand right in front of the pair. "I am King Dewei. Do you want to go somewhere where we can talk in private?" 

"That would be great," Jason said with a sigh. 

"That is the end of court for today," he said to a man standing silently behind him, obviously his seneschal. 

"As you wish sire. Shall I have Acia join you?" 

"Please. We will be in my office." 

"Yes sir." 

"Follow me." 

A minute later, they reached a door and Dewei opened it. 

Jason and Neri followed him inside and were surprised to find themselves done in dark reds and woods.   


"Please make yourselves comfortable," Dewei said, motioning for the pair to sit down. "Acia is my eldest daughter and also the heir to the throne. She should arrive in a minute." 

Jason and Neri sat down next to each other and waited a moment before the inner door behind the desk Dewei was sitting at opened. 

"You wanted to see me father?" a young woman asked as she entered the room. 

"Acia, meet Jason and, I'm sorry, but I don't know your name." 

"Neri." 

"Neri?! Do you have a sister named Mera?" 

"Yes." 

"Well, that's a surprise. You look wonderful!" 

Neri looked confusedly at Jason. "Thank you." 

"Oh, I'm sorry. You wouldn't know who I am. Do you know why all of you were sent to Earth?" 

"Not really." 

"Ok. Well, let's start off with this. I'm your uncle. Your mother was queen before me. She got to the throne in a coup. She and several others had had it with the tradition of having Chosens be the ruling class. She basically started a reign of terror her first day, killing the senators and officials that were Chosen. Several died and a few were quick enough that they were able to get into hiding. 

"A few years passed and as children were born, she would have soldiers check the child and if they were Chosen, the soldier would kill it. 

"Finally there was such an outcry for this to end that your mother had to search for another way to get rid of them. Also by that time, she had gotten married to your father and was pregnant with you. 

"Our scientists had already found Earth and realized that it was inhabitable, so we started sending Chosens and their parents to Earth in exile. When you were born, she tried to keep the fact that you were Chosen a secret, but when Mera was born a couple years later, she was forced to make a decision about whether to follow her own beliefs or go against them and send the two of you into exile. Your father offered to go with you, but she excluded herself from exile. 

"That was the last straw. I headed a large group of citizens that were horrified that she would send her own daughters into exile and decided that it was time for a coup to get rid of her. 

"We still don't have Chosens as a ruling class, but we don't persecute them any more and everyone is relatively happy. Your mother was given a choice of exile or being executed. I didn't want to do it, but she chose execution. 

"We found out when she was overthrown that every ship sent to Earth had been rigged to fail upon starting the landing sequence. We figured that every soul had perished." 

"Many did. As far back as I can remember, it was only me and my father on an island. He did tell me though that there had been others living there." 

"We think that before the craft crashed they sent all of the children away in escape pods and that's why so many survived." 

"What makes you think that?" Acia asked. 

"When we went searching for everyone, we found them all over the world. Ten living together on one island, another one living on the same coast, but farther south, two living on the same continent, but the opposite coast, and Mera on the same continent as where the craft crashed," Neri answered. 

"We brought a picture of everyone," Jason said, flipping the frame over and walking up to the desk, with Neri right behind him. 

"This is your whole family?" 

Jason laughed. "Only half of them are," he explained, pointing out the different people in the picture. 

"Who are the rest?" Dewei asked. 

"Friends of ours." 

"I'm going to have my staff get some quarters ready for you. I'll be right back," Dewei said before leaving the room. 

"So, how did you guys meet?" Acia asked. 

Jason and Neri glanced at each other. 

"Well, that's pretty complicated." 

"How complicated can it be?" 

"You have no idea," Neri answered with a smile. 

"I'd love to hear it." 

"When we have a couple hours, we'll tell you our whole story," Jason promised. 

Dewei reentered the room then. "My people are setting the room up for you. Would you like to join my family for dinner? We usually have a pretty informal one with just the immediate family once a week, and tonight's the night." 

"That would be wonderful," Neri said with a smile. 

"Great. Do you want to return to your vehicle for a little while? Dinner's not going to be served for a little bit, and it doesn't look to me like you're very comfortable in those clothes." 

"That would be great. Thank you," Jason said with a sigh of relief. 

"I'll take you over there," Acia said. I'd love to see the inside of that thing. 

"Sure," Jason said with a shrug. "There isn't a whole lot to see though." 

Acia led the way out of the building and back across the courtyard to the Eagle. 

"Go ahead and take a look around," Jason said as he unlocked and opened the door. 

"Thanks," Acia said, walking up the steps as Jason and Neri followed her up. 

"Do you want to change first?" Jason asked. 

"Thank you," Neri said, heading to the bathroom. 

Jason set the photo back onto the back end of the table before sitting down at it. 

"What is that picture in your bedroom?" Acia asked as she walked back to the front. 

"That would be our island." 

"Really? It's beautiful." 

"Thank you, we think so too." 

"Good lord, is that what you normally wear?" Acia asked as Neri came out of the bathroom, her normal dress on. 

Neri glanced down at herself. "Yes." 

"Ok, then we need to get you a new outfit," Acia said. 

"Why?" 

"That kind of dress is only worn by the poor. I'll get something for you before dinner. Do you want me to find something for you too, Jason?" 

"All right," Jason answered in surprise. 

"Great, I'll be back in forty-five minutes." 

Neri and Jason looked at each other as Acia left. 

"Oh boy," Jason said with a sigh. "Just as long as she doesn't try to put me in a skirt." 

Neri smiled "I do not want to see you in a skirt," she joked as she got a glass of water and sat down across from him. 

"I think I'm grateful for that," Jason said with a smile of his own. 

"You are not going to change?" 

"Why bother. With my shoes off, this outfit isn't too bad and I'd have to change again in 45 minutes." 

"True," Neri agreed, picking up her book. 

++++++++++ 

Forty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Jason and Neri had given up on reading and were playing chess, which they had found they both enjoyed and were both good enough to keep games going for a while. 

"It's open," Jason called out. 

Acia opened the door and walked up the stairs, carrying a couple of outfits in her arms. 

"Hi, I found some stuff for you, if you don't mind going barefoot," she said, setting the clothes down on an extra chair. 

"That's quite all right. We mostly go without shoes anyways," Jason said, knocking down his king so they would know it was his turn and stood up. 

"What are you guys doing?" Acia asked, looking at the board. 

"Playing a game of chess." 

"Chess?" 

"If we had some time, I'd explain it to you. It's pretty complicated." 

"All right. Here," Acia said, handing a knee-length dress to Neri, done in different shades of blue and green that seemed to flow across the surface. 

"I love it," Neri said with a smile. "Thank you." 

"Why don't you go change?" Jason suggested. 

Neri nodded and headed to the back. 

"Now for yours," Acia said, holding up a one-piece short set done in patches of black and white. "It's got a zipper down the front," Acia explained, opening a flap that ran down the length, exposing a zipper. 

"Oh good, I wasn't sure how I was going to wear that thing," Jason admitted. "I'll go try this thing on." 

"Oh wow," Acia said a minute later when Neri emerged from the bedroom, her hair loose and dressed in the new outfit. "You look amazing." 

"Thank you," Neri said, blushing a little. "I love it." 

"Wow," Jason said, emerging from the bathroom. "I like my outfit a lot but you look just incredible." 

"Thank you," Neri said with a smile, stealing a kiss. "You look great too." 

"That looks really great on you too," Acia commented to Jason with a grin. 

"Can we keep these?" Neri asked. 

"Of course. They look awesome on you guys." 

"I think I may have to start wearing this instead of a wetsuit," Jason said with a smile. 

"Are you ready for dinner?" Acia asked the pair, who were still holding hands. 

"Dinner sounds great," Jason said. Let me just quickly do something," he said, walking over to the control and hitting a few buttons. "Ok." 

Neri grabbed the family photo on the way out. 

Chapter 2 

The next few days were filled with meetings with different family members. The only person there wasn't any information on was Cade and while it wasn't a big surprise to either Jason or Neri since they had thought there was a good possibility that the youngest member of their family had been born on the long journey to Earth. 

Of course, the question remained of which family she belonged to, but there wasn't any way of answering that question. 

About a week after arriving Neri was awoken by a loud knock on the door. 

She untangled herself from Jason's arms and got out of bed. 

"Whoever it is, send them away. It's too darn early to talk to anyone," Jason muttered with a groan, turning over in bed. 

Neri grinned and kissed Jason's forehead before entering the main area. 

It was only just dawn when Neri glanced out the wall of windows that led out to a large balncony that had a pool dominating one end and a beautiful view of the city. The room they had been given was done in shades of white and gray and divided into a couple of areas: a sitting area right near the door and a bedroom farther back near the rear that was dominated by a large four-poster bed. 

Neri was surprised to find Acia standing on the other side of the door with tears running down her face. 

"Acia? What's wrong?" 

"My father is dead." 

"I'm sorry to hear that," Neri said softly, leading her to one of the chairs. "What happened?" 

"They think he suffered a heart attack last night. I'm queen." 

"Can I get you anything?" Neri asked. 

"No, thank you," Acia said as Jason got out of bed and came over. 

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said gently as he got a pot of coffee going. "What will happen now?" 

"First there's a week-long mourning period and then I will be crowned queen a few days later." 

"Do you think you are ready for this?" Neri asked as Jason sat down next to her. 

"I don't know," Acia answered honestly. "I've been training for it my entire life, but…" 

"No one is ever ready for the death of a parent. It's difficult to realize that you'll never see him again." 

++++++++++ 

A week later, nearly everything was set for the coronation. 

The week had culminated in Dewei's funeral, a massive undertaking with a long procession of several thousand people from the palace to the temple and graveyard where he was interred in a large mausoleum. 

Neri and Jason had both been invited to stand with Acia's family during the coronation, but only Neri had taken them up on the offer, Jason had opted for a seat in the front row. 

It started just fine, a small procession came up to the center aisle to a raised platform in the front of the temple, a priest in the lead, Acia dressed relatively plainly in a white dress not unlike Neri's original. 

Acia's two sisters and brother came next, along with their mother and Neri and then a bunch of monks, all of whom were chanting. 

Almost twenty minutes into the ceremony, which included a lot of prayer and song, the doors at the back of the temple banged open and several men filed in, armed to the teeth. 

Jason knew that this was certainly not a part of the ceremony, having been to the dress rehersal the day before and seeing the way people were reacting. 

After looking around, the group started walking up the aisle. Jason glanced at the people on the platform and realized that they were the targets, he quickly got to his feet. 

"Come on," he said, herding the group of about ten to the door he knew was hidden at the rear of the platform. 

Neri was right in front of Jason, who was the last person in line to leave the stage, when he head a strange, loud electrical charge and something slammed into his back. 

He fell forward into Neri, taking them both to the ground. 

Pain shot through his back worse than anything he had ever felt as a shadow fell over him and Neri. 

"Stupid kid, you ruined our plans," a man said, lifting his arm and aiming for Jason's head. 

"No," another man said, pulling the man's arm up and instead shooting Neri in the back. "Shoot to injure, you idiot, not kill," he said. "You know our orders." 

"Sorry sir. I guess I'm overly annoyed." 

"Sir, we're secure," a third voice said. 

"Good. Are the heir and her family in custody?" 

"No sir. There must be a back way out." 

"Damn. All right you idiots…" the man said, addressing the crowd. 

"Jason?" Neri whispered. "I…I can not feel my legs." 

"I can't feel mine either," Jason admitted, feeling really scared. 

"Are we going to die?" 

"I don't know honey. At least we're together." 

"I love you," Neri said, reaching back, searching for his hand. 

With effort Jason was able to reach forward and take it. 

"I love you too," Jason said, feeling himself fading our as more shots rang out. 

++++++++++ 

Jason woke up slowly, realizing that he was still alive, and unable to feel anything below his navel. 

He groaned as he tried to open his eyes, a light shining brightly, directly above him. 

The light behind his eyelids dimmed almost immediately and he was able to open his eyes slightly. 

"Sorry about that. We didn't know when you would wake up," a soft woman's voice said from his right. 

"I can't feel my legs." 

"When you were shot, it severed your spinal cord." 

"Neri?" 

"She's not in much better shape. Her spinal cord was severed too. She's alive though." 

"What happened?" 

There was an attempted coup. You're a hero for getting the queen and her family out of there." 

"How long have I been unconscious?" 

"Four days. Try and get some sleep, all right? Next time you wake up, we'll get some food and water into you." 

Jason was so weak he was asleep within a couple minutes. 

Chapter 3 

Over the next year, Jason and Neri made up what they had lost that day. Jason was awarded one of the highest honors for Neri's people, the title of Calem. 

They had been offered the chance to have the Eagle revamped to accommodate their new needs: widening the aisles, doubling the width, lowering all of the cabinets and counters, and putting a lift into the stairs so they wouldn't have to try and climb them. 

Jason and Neri even designed their own wheelchairs to fit what they would need when they reached Earth: lightweight, collapsible chairs that had tires tough enough to handle to rough terrain of the island straps hidden along the sides so they could pull themselves up into them, and straps that went around their middle and ankles so they wouldn't be able to bounce out of them in rough terrain. 

Meanwhile, they were gathering upper-body strength and figuring out how to live without leg power. 

By the time rehabilitation finally ended, Neri and Jason were more than ready to go home. 

Acia and her mother were a little reluctant to let the pair leave, but finally agreed after a three day test of doing everything for themselves. 

"I'm sorry to see the two of you leave," Acia said before leaving the Eagle for the last time. "If you guys ever need anything, let us know." 

"Of course. Thank you," Jason said. 

"If anyone ever comes here, it'll probably be a big group," Neri added. 

"You might see some of our people in a year or so. There's been some talk about sending an expedition over there." 

Neri and Jason glanced at each other. "There are only a very few people on our planet that truly know that we are not alone in the universe. Let me just say that there's no way of telling how people would react." 

"Thanks for the warning. Have a great trip," Acia said, hugging both Jason and Neri 

"Thank you for helping us so much," Neri said in return. 

"It was no problem. I hope you guys are all right getting home. Good luck." 

"Thanks." 

"I'll leave you now. Goodbye and good luck," Acia said before turning around and heading to the stairs to leave." 

"Bye," Jason said, following her and looking down the stairwell until he saw the indicator next to I turn green, which showed that the door was securely closed. 

He pressed the button next to it that sealed the entrance to the craft. 

"You ready?" he asked as Neri rolled up and took her place at the console. 

Neri had retained a lot ore flexibility in her hands than Jason and by mutual consent was taking on the more active role on the journey. 

Neri grinned. "I can not wait to be home." 

The End 

Author's note: Feedback is always welcome. Hope you enjoyed it! Not the end of the series though. Still quite a bit to go!!   



	6. Part 6

The Long and Winding Road, Part 6   
By Sambrea 

Six months later, they finally reached orbit around Earth. 

"I'm going to give something a try," Jason said with a grin to Neri, who was looking out the window as they settled into a wide orbit around Earth and the moon. "Eagle to hq. Come in guys." 

"Jason, is that you?" squealed Mera a few seconds later. 

"Mera it's nice to hear your voice too. Is it safe to land now, or should we wait until night fall?" 

"Oh, you'll have to wait till night fall. We've started doing tours again. Oh, but I want to see you guys now!" 

"Well, we could transport a couple people up," Neri said with a grin. 

"Like Brett and I? We're on break today." 

"Sure. That would be great." 

"Ok, give me ten minutes. I'll get back in touch with you." 

"Ok, Eagle out." 

++++++++++ 

Mera was grinning from ear to ear as she stuck the communicator in her pocket. 

"Hey Brett, where did you get to?" 

"I'm right here," Brett said, coming into the kitchen. "What's up?" 

"Guess who just contacted me?" 

"Who?" 

"Jason. He and Neri just reached orbit." 

"What? You're kidding." 

"No. Why would I kid about that. They invited us to go up for a bit." 

"Oh, awesome." 

"Let's go over to the VC first though so they don't think we just disappeared." 

"Of course." 

Two minutes later, Brett opened the door to the VC and followed Mera in. 

"Hey, what's up?" Roj asked. 

'Neri and Jason are back,' Brett signed. 

'You're kidding.' 

'No, I just talked to them. Brett and I are going up there in a minute.' 

'Oh cool. I wish I could go with.' 

'We'll probably stay up there till the sun sets. There's an extra communicator buried in Jason and Neri's nest, all right?' 

'Have fun. You can use the back room.' 

"Thanks," Brett said, leading the way to the back. 

"Mera to Eagle. We're ready. Two to beam up." 

"All right," Neri answered. "Let me warn you that a lot has changed for us." 

"Come on, how much can you have changed?" 

Jason snorted. "You'll see." 

"Just a second and I will transport you up." 

A few seconds later, Mera felt the tingle of the transporter. 

"Holy crap, what happened to you two?" Brett asked, noticing the pair were in wheelchairs. 

"Hmm. Not hello, not it's great to see you, just what happened," Jason said with a grin. 

"All right, all right. It's great to see you guys," Mera admitted, walking forward to hug Neri. 

After a moment, Brett hugged Jason and then switched. 

"Sit down," Neri said, motioning to the pull-down seats on ones side of the table. 

Mera and Brett did and Jason and Neri pulled into the other side, which was wider to accommodate them. 

"Did you find Mom and Winston?" Jason asked. 

Brett shook his head slowly. "No. I think you were right Jason, I think they were transported to Luna." 

"God. Well, at least they're in good hands." 

"So what the heck happened to you guys? The absolutely last thing I expected was to see you guys in wheelchairs." 

"I know. It's…" 

"We are both paralyzed." 

"What happened?" 

Jason quickly explained what happened. 

"Fortunately, we were the only ones hurt and I was basically hailed as a national hero. We got the best of care, but it took a year to really get to the point where we could come home but we're at the point where we're completely independent again, which is really good since we spent six months alone in space." 

"I was hit lower than Jason was so I retained a lot more use of my hands than he did and I took on a lot of the things that require fast hand work." 

"You did? Here, squeeze my hand," Mera told Jason, grabbing his hand before he could argue. 

Jason did his best to, but knew it wasn't much. 

"God, that's horrible," Mera said, letting Jason's hand go. 

"Actually, it's slowly getting better, but it takes time to do a lot of things and it could be worse," Jason added with a sigh, flexing his hand slowly. 

"I'm so glad that you guys are back," Brett said. "Is this thing bigger?" 

"Yeah. We got this thing expanded when we were paralyzed." 

"It has a few other features," Neri added. 

"Like what?" 

"There's a lift built into the stairs, all the cabinets are lower. We removed the side of the bathtub so we can roll right in. The chairs, we actually designed. They're collapsible, waterproof and durable enough to go over the terrain of the island." 

"Oh, that's so neat," Mera said with a smile. 

"We also got these designed," Neri commented, pulling out on of the pulls. 

"What's that?" Brett asked. 

"It's to pull ourselves into the chair if we need to. We have had to be pretty much self sufficient." 

"Good point. And that's a pretty good thing, considering what your sleeping options are," Brett said. 

"Well actually, I've got a good idea for a lift system to get us up into the trees," Jason said. 

"There is something else," Neri mentioned. "What do we do with this thing?" 

"Well, there are things we could do with it," Brett said. 

"Like what?" 

"Well a lot of us would like to travel to PO ourselves, including Brett and I." 

"Wow, I had no idea. Well, that's certainly a possibility." 

"It is possible that we will have visitors from PO in less than a year," Neri admitted. 

"Oh. In that case, maybe it would be better if we did something else instead." 

++++++++++ 

That evening it was a wonderful reunion: lots of hugs and a lot of explanations, including something Brett and Mera had kept from the pair, that Brett had searched out his and Jason's birth father, Paul Bates and convinced him to move to the island so they would have some adult support. He still worked on the mainland, but used a boat to go back and forth every day. 

He had been just as surprised to see them as Jason was to see him. 

Paul, unlike Dianne, had never remarried, and even though having been completely overwhelmed at first, everyone agreed that he had learned to take everything in stride and help in any way needed, even learning to use the sign system everyone else used. 

"You know, when Brett first got in touch with me it was a shock. I'll be honest with you. I never expected to hear from either of you again. But I'm loving my life here. If you ever do locate your mother, I won't stand in the way. If you decide to kick me out of your lives again, I won't be happy, but I'll respect your decision." 

"You know what Dad? You won't get rid of us that easily," Brett said with a grin. 

Everyone nodded his or her agreement. 

Chapter 2 

A year later Paul, Jason, Brett and Mera were planning the night that was going to change Neri and Jason's lives: Jason was going to propose to Neri. 

Mera had lent her necklace to Paul so that he could take it to a jeweler and have it copied in gold and a diamond so it would match with Neri's own and they would be able to connect the two so she would be able to wear both at once. 

Everyone but Neri knew about the plans and everyone wanted to help. 

It was a gorgeous evening when everything was set up on the cliff. 

Neri was wheeled blindfolded up to the table set up with candles and dinner under covered plates. 

It was a nice evening with a cloudless sky and a light breeze. The sun was just starting to set when Neri removed the blindfold 

"What is going on?" she asked, a hint of a smile on her face. 

"Well, would you like to find out now, or have dinner first?" Jason asked, a smile on his face. 

"I am too curious to wait." 

"Well, normally I would get down on one knee for this, but since that's not possible…" Jason said shyly. "Here, open this," he said handing her the wrapped box containing the finished necklace to Neri. 

"Jason," she said, obviously speechless as she lifted the necklace from it's box. 

"Neri, we've been the closest of friends for so many years I can't imagine my life without you anymore. Will you marry me?" 

"Of course Jason, I would love to," she said, wheeling around the side of the table so they could hug and kiss. 

When they finally separated, Jason reached over and grabbed the necklace. 

"Now for the ultimate test," he said with a grin. "Can I get the clasp closed." 

It was the work of a couple of minutes but Jason was able to get the necklace closed around her neck. 

Jason kissed Neri softly on her neck before wheeling around to the other side of the table. 

"I was not expecting that," Neri admitted, still grining. 

"That was the idea. It would have been kind of pointless if you had known." 

"Who else knew?" 

"Come on, in this family? Everyone except you." 

"How long have you been planning this?" 

"About a month. We had a jeweler make a copy of Mera's necklace the last time she and Brett took the Eagle out so you wouldn't realize she wasn't wearing it." 

"Good idea. Though I probably would not have noticed." 

"Well, we might as well start on dinner," Jason said still smiling. 

++++++++++ 

A month later, everyone was sitting around a fire looking at a letter detailing a deep threat to their way of life. 

A social worker had arrived on the island earlier that evening to talk to Paul and explain what would be required of the family: that all of the children except Jason and Neri would be required to go to school on the mainland, that they would have to submit to weekly visits from a social worker including surprise ones. 

"But there's no way we can follow these instructions," Brett said holding the letter the woman had left with them. 

"I know, that's the thing," Paul said with a sigh. "It's not like we're a normal family who just doesn't attend school or anything." 

"I've got an idea, but I'm not sure you guys will like it," Jason said with a sigh of his own. 

"What?" 

"We abandon the island. Everyone but Neri, Dad and I go to sea, taking the communicators with them. We can keep in touch that way, but we wouldn't be able to return." 

"Where would you guys go?" Mera asked. 

"Into space, the only other option open to us. Dad doesn't know how to swim properly, and Neri and I don't have the capacity to live completely in the sea anymore." 

"Well, this gives us a couple days, thank god. We don't have to make a decision right away," Paul said. 

"I don't think we have any other choice," Brett said. 

"There's one other. Jason and I could head out to PO and get help." 

"That'll take a year or more though, won't it?" Brett pointed out. 

"Yeah, that's the only thing." 

"If you go do that, where would I go," Paul asked, obviously considering the idea. 

Jason shrugged. "Well, there's a couple possibilities. You could come with us the full trip, which would mean a year in a little craft really meant for only two. Or, we've made a few friends along the way and we could drop you off at say Vulcan and pick you up on the way back." 

"The only other problem with giving up and going to PO is that everyone here would have to give up their lives here, at least the parts that don't involve the island. Is anyone really willing to do that?" Neri pointed out. 

Everyone who had friends in the ocean shook their heads. 

"Great," Paul muttered. "You guys aren't willing to leave, even though it is the best thing for you?" 

"Nope, sorry," Roj said. "We are willing to go to sea though. And if we all stick relatively close to one another, we should be fine." 

"We have two extra communicators sitting in the Eagle," Jason said. "If everyone splits up into two groups, you know, one for those who migrate in fall and winter and one for those who migrate in spring and summer, it should work out." 

"I think Cade and Dard should go to Hali and Dore's parents in Canada," Paul suggested. "They'll be safe there and can get a decent education." 

'But we don't want to leave everyone else,' Cade signed. 

"It's really not that bad an idea though, Cade," Jason said. "They know how to help kids like you and Dard and you can find a school where you can make friends and get something no one else in this family ever really has a chance to get, except for of course Undri, which is a high school diploma and a college education." 

'All right, I'll go,' Cade signed, obviously not thrilled with the concept. 

"Me too," Dard said. 

"I'll go get a hold of Hali's parents," Jason said, rolling out of the circle of firelight. 

A few hours later, everyone left the island under the cover of only a sliver of a moon, taking with them the few possessions no one was willing to leave behind: a copy of the picture from Luna, which went with Cade and Dard to Canada, and the few momentos they had all gathered over the years with Jason and Neri promising to contact the groups if they ever found another place they could all live. 

Author's note: I originally came up with this idea to come during the next part but I had a feeling that something needed to come in between so there it is. I'll be on vacation for the next two weeks without internet access so don't expect any updates till after that!   



	7. Chapter 7 preview!

Author's note: This is just the introduction. That's it for now, but I hope it whets your appetite for more when the whole next section finally gets finished after… HOLY CRAP, IT'S BEEN NINE YEARS? Um, sorry about that, I hope people are still interested in the saga, I hope it doesn't take me that long to actually finish it once I get past this section. I never stopped thinking about where I wanted to take it, I've just found it hard to write for some reason. Well, enjoy, and hopefully, the full part will be up after school gets out June 9th, and I can get moving on it really hard.

Everything was exploding around them as Jason struggled to steer the Freedom close enough to the giant ship standing between him, Neri and home, trying to get into transporter range for the giant bomb sitting in their bedroom, waiting to detonate it's deadly load.

"10…9…8…7…" Neri counted off as Jason concentrated on dodging phaser blasts, thankful there were only two banks on the ship that rotated in and out of usage as they repowered.

It was only a few seconds later though that a large explosion rocked the ship as Jason was too slow on the dodge.

"Transporters offline," the computer announced emotionlessly.

"Damn it, now what?" Jason asked, not taking his eyes off the screen for a second as he continued dodging.

"I don't think we have much choice," Neri whispered, watching the screens and pushing the occasional button.

"We're going to have to ram them."

"Jason…" she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I know, we're not going to get out of this," Jason sighed, taking a moment to kiss the top of her head. "Are you all right with that?"

Neri was silent for a moment. "If we save Earth…yes, it's worth it."

"All right, I've got to stay here but would you go get the bomb armed? If this console explodes we're going to need that back console quickly.

"I'll keep an eye on the situation from back there," Neri promised.

"Come here for a moment," Jason said, giving her a kiss that was a lot shorter than he wanted it to be. "Good luck."

"You've got the hard job, not me. If you think it's going to explode, get to the back. We can handle it from there."

"I will, get going, there's not a whole lot of time," Jason said, turning back to the console as Neri slipped away into the bedroom.

It was only a few seconds that what Jason feared what would happen did, the console in front of him exploded sending him flying backwards end over with his ending up towards the frontend as the cabin began filling up with smoke quickly, the fire-suppression system apparently having gone offline.

Jason tried to crawl out from under his overturned chair, coughing as the fumes filled his mouth. "Maybe we should have brought Brett," he muttered, staring at his burned hands, barely able to move forward as he managed to push the mangled chair off of him.

"Neri," he called, coughing with the effort of talking loudly. "Neri, you have to steer from back there."

"I already am…Are you all right?"

"You're going to have to close the door Neri so you don't get overwhelmed by the smoke…I'm not going anywhere."

Neri was silent for a moment, contemplating that. "I love you Jason. Don't forget that," she called out quickly before the door between them slid shut with a thunk.

"Like I could," Jason murmured with a sigh, figuring he only had a minute or two to live, he contemplated how they had gotten into that situation in the first place…


End file.
